Held, Plaintiffs are large multinational companies, which are using the trademark Volvo for manufacturing and selling various products particularly vehicles, and the word Volvo is an integral component of their corporate name. The name Volvo on account of its extensive use by the plaintiffs since 1915, has become associated exclusively with the plaintiff companies and the products being manufactured and sold by them.
With the passage of time, the goods sold or the services rendered by a person, including a company may acquire huge reputation in the market and certain goodwill comes to be attached to its products, on account of their being in the market for a long time, coupled with their quality. It is not permissible for another person to start selling goods, using that name and thereby enrich himself at the cost of the person, who has been using the name for a long time and has invested considerably in promoting that name and building the brand adopted by him. If a person attempts to gain riches by encashing upon the goodwill which the product of another person enjoys in the market, such attempts need to be curbed wherever the aggrieved party approaches the Court in this regard.
