Rajasthan High Court Paves Way For Release Of Dharma Productions' Film “Jigra” Amid Trademark Dispute
Rajasthan High Court Paves Way For Release Of Dharma Productions' Film “Jigra” Amid Trademark Dispute
In a significant development, the Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur, has stayed a Commercial Court’s ex-parte order that had earlier restrained the release of Dharma Productions’ much-anticipated film “Jigra”. The movie, set for release on 11th October 2024, faced a legal hurdle when Ballaram Choudhary (plaintiff), filed a suit alleging trademark infringement on the title “Jigra”.
He argued that his registered trademark “Jigra”, under Class 41 of the Trademark Act, was being infringed by the film’s title, prompting the Commercial Court to pass an order on 8th October 2024, halting the movie’s release. Dharma Productions, however, was not served with the plaint and only became aware of the order on the morning of 10th October.
DSK Legal, along with a local team of advocates and Senior Counsel, swiftly filed an appeal before the Rajasthan High Court. An urgent hearing was granted on the same day. After hearing both parties, a division bench comprising Justices Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Munnuri Laxman stayed the operation of the Commercial Court’s order as an "ad interim measure," stating that "the effect and operation of the impugned order dated 08.10.2024 passed by learned Commercial Court No.1 Jodhpur in Civil Misc. Application No. 60/2024 in Civil Suit No.100/2024 shall remain stayed, till the next date."
The High Court further observed, “At the threshold herein, taking into consideration the three parameters of prima facie case, irreparable loss and balance of convenience, this Court is prima facie convinced that the name of the movie in question would not infringe the trademark rights of goods and services. Moreover, the appellant is not trading in the name of ‘Jigra’, rather it is M/s. Dharma Productions Private Limited by naming a movie as ‘Jigra’ cannot be said to be an infringement of trademark laws.”
Legal Team Representing Dharma Productions Included:
DSK Legal: Parag Khandhar, Partner; Chandrima Mitra, Partner
Local Team in Jodhpur: Advocate Nishant Bora, Advocate Abhilasha Bora
Senior Counsel: Vikas Balia
Dharma Productions: Rakhee Bajpai Tiwari, Chief Legal Officer
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