High court intervenes in ITC’s trademark suit

The Calcutta High Court ruled last week that it has jurisdiction to decide a trade mark suit moved by ITC Ltd against a cooperative bank in a “nondescript” Kerala town. The name of the bank is Irinjalakuda Town Co-operative Bank, abbreviated as ITC Bank. The corporation with its registered office in Kolkata alleged infringement of its trade mark and accused the bank of trying to pass off its services as that of the big corporation. It asserted that the website of the bank is accessible everywhere and that the cheques or drafts carrying the name "ITC Bank" are being issued and can be encashed at all banks situated within the jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court. Similarly, the debit cards issued can be used at ATMs everywhere. The bank submitted that the high court could not claim jurisdiction in this case as it operated in Kerala. The high court rejected its defence.