Delhi High Court rules ‘century’ is not a description of kitchen utensils

A two-judge panel of the Delhi High Court recently ruled that words in common dictionaries can also take on secondary meanings and serve as source identifiers. Chamber Judge’s Appeal Decision Against Sole Judge’s Order, Parties to Dispute over Use of the Word CENTURY in Hardware, Kitchen Hardware, and Cabinet Fittings, Including Metal Locks, Nuts, Bolts, and Other Trademark Displays. The method is shown in the figure below:
Plaintiff Century World seeks a restraining order prohibiting Defendant Apaar Homez Mart Private Limited (Apaar) from using the trademark “SEPAL CENTURY” or any other deceptively similar mark containing the word “CENTURY” in its business. The district court ruled in favor of Century World, and Apar filed an appeal challenging the trial court’s ruling on two main grounds, among other things.
In light of the foregoing, the full panel dismissed Apaar’s appeal and upheld the district court’s preliminary injunction.
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