Delhi District Court
Khanna Publishersthrough Its Partner vs Digibook Technologies Private Limited on 3 January, 2024
DLCT010130262022
IN THE COURT OF DISTRICT JUDGE (COMMERCIAL
COURT)-01,
CENTRAL, TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI
PRESIDED BY: MR. SANJEEV KUMAR AGGARWAL
IN THE MATTER OF:
CS (COMM) NO. 2173/22
M/s Khanna Publishers
Through its Partner
Mr. Kratu Khanna
2-B, Nath Market,
Nai Sarak, Delhi - 110006
...Plaintiff
Versus
M/s Digibook Technologies Private Limited,
Villa No. 615 PHS, Anchemuskuru Malur TQ,
Chikkathirupathy Road, The Empyrean Anchemuskuru
Kolar Karnataka- 563160
Also at (Branch Office):
Flat no.- B-101, Airawat Parisar,
Padmanabhpur, Durg,
Chhattisgarh- 491001
Also at:
Unit No. 1014/1015, Ardente Office One,
Hoodi Main Road, Hoodi,,
Bengaluru- 560048
.... Defendant
CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 1 of 29
Date of Institution : 14.09.2022
Date of reserving judgment : 19.10.2023
Date of Judgment : 03.01.2024
JUDGMENT
1. Vide this judgment, I shall decide the present suit filed by the plaintiff for infringement of copyright, permanent injunction, rendition of accounts and recovery of ₹1,97,235/- with interest pendente lite, damages etc.
2. Brief facts as stated by the plaintiff are that plaintiff is a registered partnership firm and is one of the leading publishing houses who specialize in publication of engineering and technical books. Plaintiff has a full range of textbooks, competitive books and handbooks in seven different streams of engineering including but not limited to civil, chemical, mechanical, electrical etc.
3. It has been further stated that Plaintiff has copyright ownership in the above-mentioned books due to the execution of assignment deed through the respective publishing agreements and the authors of the books assigned copyright and all rights in the literary works to the Plaintiff by upon execution of the agreements. Thus, the Plaintiff is the owner of the copyright and all rights in these literary works and no person without the express written permission is entitled to sell, use, publish or display the said literary works. It has been further stated that the said Books are "literary work" as defined under Section 2 (O) of the Copyright Act, 1957 and thus plaintiff is entitled for copyright protection.
4. It has been further stated that plaintiff is the owner of CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 2 of 29 various books / literary works under the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Plaintiff by virtue of agreement executed in 2013 with Defendant had allowed to sell e-books of the books in which Plaintiff has copyright ownership, the list of the e-books which Plaintiff had allowed the Defendant to sell are as follows:
S.No. Name of Book Author Name A Manual on Maintenance Engineering (Repair and Maintenance of Civil Works 1 and Structures) B.S. Nayak A Monograph on Electronics Design N.C. Goyal and R.K. 2 Principles Khetan A Text Book of Advanced 3 Surveying R. Agor A Text Book of Applied Mechanics Dynamics and 4 Statics I.B. Prasad A Text Book of Electrical and Electronics Engineering 5 Materials P.L. Kapur A Text Book of B.C. Agarwal and S.P. 6 Metallurgical Analysis Jain A Text Book of Strength of 7 Materials I.B. Prasad A Text Book on Automobile T.R. Banga and Nathu 8 Engineering Singh 9 A Text on Petro Chemicals Dr. B.K. Bhaskararao A Textbook of Engineering Dr. A.B. Mathur and 10 Mathematics Prof. V.P. Jaggi A Textbook of Mechanics of 11 Solids Dr. J.P. Singh A Textbook of Objective Mechanical Engineering (Contains 9000+ MCQ & 12 A) Er. Sajal Kumar Ghosh A Textbook of Surveying 13 and Levelling R. Agor 14 Advanced Engineering Dr. A.B. Mathur and CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 3 of 29 Mathematics Prof. V.P. Jaggi Advanced Manufacturing Technology (CAD/CAM 15 Technology) Prof. K. Varaprasada Rao Advanced Mechanics of Dr. Kamal Kumar and 16 Materials R.C.Ghai 17 Advanced Petrochemicals Dr. G.N. Sarkar Advanced Petroleum 18 Refining Dr. G.N. Sarkar Alternate Energy (Sources, Applications and 19 Technologies) Dr. N.K. Giri An Introduction to Power 20 Plant Technology G.D. Rai Analysis of Structures Vol-I Prof. V.N. Vazirani, (Analysis, Design and Dr.M.M. Ratwani and 21 Details of Structures) Dr. S.K. Duggal Analysis of Structures Vol- Prof. V.N. Vazirani, II (Theory, Design & Dr.M.M. Ratwani and 22 Details of Structures) Dr. S.K. Duggal 23 Applied Stress Analysis Dr. Sadhu Singh Automation Systems in Smart and Green Buildings (Modern Building 24 Technology) Er. V.K. Jain 25 Automobile Engineering G.B.S. Narang 26 Automobile Mechanics Dr. N.K. Giri 27 Automobile Technology Dr. N.K. Giri Basic Formulae Book for Dr. D. P. Kothari and 28 Electrical Engineering Rakesh B. Dakhare BPSC Assistant Engineering in Civil Services Compiled By: Hridha 29 Examination Paper I & II Khanna Dr. J. Jha and Prof. S.K. 30 Building Construction Sinha Building Science and 31 Planning Prof S.V Deodhar Dr. K.C. Jain and Vikas 32 CAD,CAM, CIM Gohil Chemical Engineering Dr. G N. Pandey and J.C. 33 Thermodynamics Chaudhri 34 Chemical Engineering D.C. Sikdar CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 4 of 29 Thermodynamics Chemistry (For All Indian Universities MSc Entrance Complied by: Khanna 35 Examination) Editorial Team Chemistry (MSc Entrance Complied by: Khanna 36 Examination Solved Papers) Editorial Team Civil Engineering Drawing 37 & House Planning Dr. B.P. Verma Civil Engineering Estimating, Costing & Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 38 Valuation Prof. S.P. Chandola 39 Civil Engineering Materials Prof S.V Deodhar Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (Test CAD 40 Programs Inside) Dr. Sadhu Singh Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 41 Concrete Technology Prof. S.P. Chandola Construction & Foundation Dr. J. Jha and Prof. S.K. 42 Engineering Sinha Construction Engineering & 43 Management of Projects S.C. Sharma Construction Equipment 44 and Its Management S.C. Sharma Construction Equipment 45 and Job Planning Prof S.V Deodhar Construction Management Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 46 and Accounts Prof. S.P. Chandola Construction Management 47 of Industrial Projects S.K. Bhattacharjee Consumer Electronics (Fundamentals of Audio and 48 Video Systems) M.L. Anand Control System Analysis 49 and Design K.K. Aggarwal 50 Control System Design B.S. Manke 51 Control System Theory Dr. Sushil Das Gupta 52 Conventional & Objective Er. R.K. Jain Type Questions & Answers on Mechanical Engineering for Competitions (with Guidelines to Interview Preparation and Sample CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 5 of 29 Interviews) Conventional and Objective Type Questions and Answers in Electrical 53 Engineering P.L. Kapur CSIR-UGC NET/SET ( JRF & LS ) MATHEMATICAL 54 SCIENCES Dr. S. Saranya CSIR-UGC NET/SET ( JRF & LS ) PHYSICAL 55 SCIENCES R. Nageshwara Rao Design and Analysis of Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 56 Steel Structures Dr. M.M. Ratwani M.G. Aswani, V.N. Vazirani and M.M. 57 Design of Concrete Bridges Ratwani Design of Machine 58 Elements (Machine Design) Dr. Sadhu Singh Design of Reinforced Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 59 Concrete Structures Dr. M.M. Ratwani Discrete Mathematics and A. Tamilarasi and A.M. 60 Its Applications Natarajan Ecology and Environmental 61 Studies Santosh Kumar Garg EHV-AC, HVDC Transmission & 62 Distribution Engineering Prof. Sunil S. Rao Dr. M. Arumugam and 63 Electric Circuit Theory N. Premakumaran 64 Electric Motor Drives M.S. Berde Electric Power Systems (Analysis, Stability & 65 Protection) K.A. Gangadhar Electrical and Electronics Engineering Materials and 66 Components Dr. S.K. Bhattacharya Electrical Engineering 67 Materials G.K. Mithal 68 Electrical Machinery Dr. S.K. Sen CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 6 of 29 Electrical Measurements & 69 Measuring Instruments Dr. Rajendra Prasad Electrical Networks & 70 Circuits B.S. Manke Electrical Power Systems (Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Protection and Utilization of Electrical Dr. S.L. Uppal and Prof. 71 Energy) Sunil S. Rao Electrical Safety, Fire Prof. Sunil S. Rao, R.K. Safety Engineering and Jain and Prof. H.L. 72 Safety Management Saluja Electrical Substation Engineering and Practice Engineering & Practice EHV-AC, HVDC AND 73 SF6-GIS Prof. Sunil S. Rao Electrical Wiring Estimating Dr. S.L. Uppal and G.C. 74 and Costing Garg H.N. Sharma & Prashant 75 Electrician Trade Theory Bhardwaj Electromagnetic Field Theory (Including Antennas K.A. Gangadhar and 76 and Wave Propagation) P.M. Ramanathan 77 Electromagnetic Fields G.K. Mithal Electromagnetic Fields 78 Waves and Antennas D.V. Prasad Electronic Communication (Analog, Digital and 79 Wireless) Sanjeeva Gupta Electronic Devices and 80 Circuits G.K. Mithal Electronic Measurements & 81 Instrumentation Dr. Rajendra Prasad Elementary Engineering Mathematics (For I & II Semesters of B. Tech. & 82 Diploma Courses) B.S. Grewal Elements of Civil Engineering (Basic Civil 83 Engineering) R. Agor 84 Elements of Fuels, Furnaces O.P. Gupta CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 7 of 29 & Refractories Elements of Matrix and Stability Analysis of 85 Structures V.K. Manicka Selvam Elements of Mechanical Engineering (As Per Latest Manoj Kumar Verma and 86 Syllabus of AKTU) Anikesh Tripathi Elements of Reaction 87 Engineering Dr. Srivastav R.P.S. Energy Conservation & 88 Dissipation Dr. Srivastav R.P.S. Energy Technology (Non Conventional, Renewable Prof. Sunil S. Rao and 89 and Conventional) Dr. B.B. Parulekar 90 Engineering Chemistry O.P. Aggarwal Engineering Chemistry M.M. Uppal; Revised by 91 (Chemical Technology) Dr. Pooja Bhagat Engineering Electromagnetics (Theory, 92 Problems and Application) Dr. J.P. Tewari Engineering Geology and 93 Rock Mechanics Dr. B.P. Verma Engineering Graphics - I (as per AICTE and UBTER, 94 Uttarakhand Syllabus) Er. Vivek Goel 95 Engineering Materials Dr. Janardan Jha Engineering Mechanics 96 (Statics & Dynamics) Dr. Sadhu Singh 97 Engineering Metrology Er. R.K. Jain Engineering 98 Thermodynamics Dr. Sadhu Singh Environmental Pollution and Control in Chemical 99 Process Industries S.C. Bhatia Environmental Studies and Santosh Kumar Garg and 100 Green Technologies Dr. Ranjini Garg Experimental Strength of 101 Materials Dr. Abdul Mubeen Experimental Stress 102 Analysis Dr. Sadhu Singh Experiments in Electrical 103 Engineering G.P. Chhalotra CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 8 of 29 Experiments in Fluid 104 Mechanics Dr. Baljeet S. Kapoor Finite Element Method in A.S. Meghre and Ms. 105 Structural Analysis K.M. Kadam Fluid Mechanics and T.R. Banga and S.C. 106 Hydraulic Machines Sharma Fluid Mechanics including 107 Hydraulic Machines Dr. A.K. Jain T.R. Banga and T. 108 Foundry Engineering Manghnani 109 Fundamentals of Electronics Anokh Singh Fundamentals of Gas 110 Dynamics Dr. K.L. Yadao Fundamentals of Heat & 111 Mass Transfer Dr. G.K. Roy Fundamentals of Maintenance of Electrical 112 Equipments K.B. Bhatia Fundamentals of PERT/CPM & Project 113 Management S.K. Bhattacharjee Gas Turbine Theory & Jet 114 Propulsion Dr. J.K. Jain Gate Computer Science and Information Technology with General Studies and Engineering Aptitude 2 vol Khanna Editorial Team 115 Combo set and Er. R.K.Jain GATE Electrical 116 Engineering Dr. D.P. Kothari GATE Electronics and Communication Complied by: Khanna 117 Engineering Editorial Team GATE Mechanical 118 Engineering Er. R.K. Jain GATE Mechanical 119 Engineering Digest Er. R.K. Jain Gate Mechanical Engineering with General Studies and engineering 120 aptitude 2 vol combo set Er. R.K. Jain CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 9 of 29 GATE Solved Question Papers Mechanical 121 Engineering Dr. Sadhu Singh General Studies and 122 Engineering Aptitude Er. R.K. Jain Handbook of Civil Engineering (Ready Reference for Practising Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 123 Engineers) Prof. S.P. Chandola Handbook of Designing and Installation of Services in High Rise Building 124 Complexes Er. V.K. Jain Handbook of Electrical 125 Engineering S.L. Bhatia Handbook of Mechanical 126 Engineering Ganesh Viswanathan Dr. C.P. Arora and Dr. 127 Heat and Mass Transfer Sadhu Singh Prof. D.V. Razevig;
translated by Dr. M.P. 128 High Voltage Engineering Chourasia T.R. Banga and S.C. 129 Hydraulic Machines Sharma Complied by: Khanna 130 IIT-JAM (CHEMISTRY) Editorial Team Complied by: Khanna 131 IIT-JAM (PHYSICS) Editorial Team Industrial Electronics and Control (Including Questions & Answers of A.K. Vanvasi and D.P. 132 GATE, IES & PSU) Joshi Industrial Engineering & Management (Including T.R. Banga and S.C. 133 Production Management) Sharma Industrial Engineering and 134 Management Dr. B. Kumar Industrial Management and 135 Organisational Behaviour K.K. Ahuja Industrial Organisation and T.R. Banga and S.C. 136 Engineering Economics Sharma 137 Integrated Circuits K.R. Botkar CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 10 of 29 138 Integrated Management R.C. Gupta Internal Combustion Engines (Including Gas 139 Turbines) Prof. P.L. Ballaney Interview Book for 140 Mechanical Engineers Er. R.K. Jain Interview in Civil Engineering (For Subjective, Objective, Multiple Choice Tests and 141 Interviews) Manoj Kumar Linear Control Systems 142 with MATLAB Applications B.S. Manke 143 Machine Design G.R. Nagpal 144 Machine Design Er. R.K. Jain Machine Design (Design of 145 Machine Elements) Dr. Abdul Mubeen 146 Machine Design Data Book Dr. Sadhu Singh Kamal Kumar and 147 Machine Design Data Book S.K.Dhagat 148 Machine Drawing G.R. Nagpal 149 Machine Tool Engineering G.R. Nagpal Manufacturing Processes 150 and Automation Dr. R.S. Parmar Manufacturing Processes Dr. B. Kumar and Sujoy 151 and Technology Kumar 152 Material Science Dr. Abdul Mubeen V.K. Manchanda and 153 Materials and Metallurgy G.B.S. Narang Materials Management & 154 Materials Handling S.C. Sharma Materials Science & 155 Metallurgy Dr. R.B. Choudhary Mathematics (MSc/MA Entrance Examination Complied by: Khanna 156 Solved Papers) Editorial Team Mathematics For All Indian Universities MSc Entrance Complied by: Khanna 157 Examination Editorial Team 158 Mechanical and Industrial Er. R.K. Jain Measurements ( Process Instrumentation and Control CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 11 of 29 ) Mechanical Engineer's 159 Handbook Dr. Sadhu Singh 160 Mechanical Engineering H.R. Kapoor Mechanical Engineering (Objective Type Questions 161 and Answers) Dr. M. Adithan Mechanical Engineering for competitions with Handbook of Mechanical Engineering 2 vol combo Er. R.K.Jain and Ganesh 162 set Viswanathan Mechanical Engineering T.R. Banga, S.C. Sharma 163 Hand Book and Tahil Manghnani Mechanical Estimating and Costing Including T.R. Banga and S.C. 164 Contracting Sharma Mechanical Operations for Chemical Engineers (Incorporating Computer C.M. Narayanan and 165 Aided Analysis) B.C. Bhattacharya Mechanical Vibrations and 166 Noise Control Dr. Sadhu Singh Metal Cutting and Machine 167 Tool Engineering Tikam Lal Chaudhary 168 Metal Forming Processes G.R. Nagpal 169 Metallurgical Engineering Arbind Kumar Sumit Kumar Gupta & Dr. Sushil Kumar 170 Microprocessors Agrawal 171 Microwave Engineering Sanjeeva Gupta Microwave Signals and 172 System Engineering Sajal K. Das Modern Machining Methods & Machining of 173 Advanced Ceramics Dr. M. Adithan Modern Refrigeration and Airconditioning for 174 Engineers Prof. P.S. Desai 175 MPPSC Assistant Engineer Complied by: Khanna (Civil) Examination Paper I Editorial Team CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 12 of 29 & II Non Conventional Energy 176 Sources G.D. Rai Mrs. N.Vishnu Prabha:Dr.Iyyampillai:D NTA UGC NET/ SET ( JRF r.M.Akhila:Dr.A.Meenak 177 & LS ) General Paper-I shi Numerical Methods in Engineering & Science with Programs in C, C++ & 178 MATLAB B.S. Grewal Objective Question & Answers in Electrical 179 Engineering R.R. Gupta Objective Type and Conventional Questions and Answers on Civil Engineering for All Types of Examinations & 180 Interviews R. Agor Objective Type Civil engineering with Interview in civil engineering 2 vol R. Agor and Manoj 181 combo set Kumar Objective Type Questions & Answers in Civil Engineering For 182 Competitions & Interviews S.K. Duggal Objective Type Questions & Answers in Metallurgical 183 Engineering O.P. Gupta Objective Type Questions and Answers in Chemical 184 Engineering O.P. Gupta Objective Type Questions and Answers in Chemical 185 Engineering Dr. Ram Prasad Outlines of Chemical Instrumentation and Process 186 Control Alapati Suryanarayana 187 Petroleum Refining Dr. Ram Prasad CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 13 of 29 Technology Physics (For All Indian Universities MSc Entrance Complied by: Khanna 188 Examination) Editorial Team Physics (MSc Entrance Complied by: Khanna 189 Examination Solved Papers) Editorial Team Planning, Design & Engineering of Sustainable 190 Urban Transport & System A.K. Jain Plant Layout and Materials 191 Handling S.C. Sharma Plant Layout and Materials Dr. R.B. Choudhary and 192 Handling G.R.N. Tagore G.R. Nagpal and S.C. 193 Power Plant Engineering Sharma 194 Power Plant Technology Er. R.K. Jain Power System Analysis & 195 Stability S.S. Vadhera Power Transformers & 196 Special Transformers Prof. Sunil S. Rao Practical Handbook of Civil 197 Engineering C.S.D. Singhal Principles and Practices of Highway Engineering (Including Expressways and Dr. L.R. Kadiyali and Dr. 198 Airport Engineering) N.B. Lal Principles of Automation and Advanced Manufacturing Systems (CAD, CAM, FMS, CIMS, Dr. K.C. Jain and Sanjay 199 AI & ROBOTICS) Jain Problems in Soil Mechanics 200 & Foundation Engineering Dr. B.P. Verma G.B.S. Narang and V. 201 Production and Costing Kumar Production Technology Vol 202 I & II Er. R.K. Jain Production, Planning and Control & Industrial K.C. Jain and L.N. 203 Management Agarwal Programmable Logic 204 Controller Vijay R. Jadhav CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 14 of 29 Quality Control & 205 Reliability Analysis Dr. Brijendra Singh Quality Management and 206 Reliability S.C. Sharma Quantity Surveying (Principles and 207 Applications) P.K. Guha Questions and Answers in 208 Mechanical Engineering P.S. Mehta Radar Systems and Radio Dr. A.K. Sen and Dr. 209 Aids to Navigation A.B. Bhattacharya Radio Engineering (Principles of 210 Communication systems) G.K. Mithal Railways, Bridges and Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 211 Tunnels Prof. S.P. Chandola Refrigeration and Air 212 Conditioning Prof. P.L. Ballaney 213 Road Techniques Dr. P.B. Shahani Rockets and Satellites 214 (Basics of Rocketry) Dr. A.K. Shrivastava RPSC-AEN Civil Complied by: Khanna 215 Engineering Editorial Team RRB-JE (Railway Recruitment Board Junior Engineer) in Civil Complied by: Khanna 216 Engineering Editorial Team RRB-JE (Railway Recruitment Board Junior Engineer) in Electrical Complied by: Khanna 217 Engineering Editorial Team RRB-JE (Railway Recruitment Board Junior Engineer) in Mechanical Complied by: Khanna 218 Engineering Editorial Team Safety in Chemical Dr. B.K. Bhaskara Rao, Plants/Industry and Its Er. R.K. Jain, and Vineet 219 Management Kumar Safety Management in Construction (Principles and 220 Practice) S.K. Bhattacharjee CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 15 of 29 Safety, Occupational Health and Environmental Management in S.C. Sharma and Vineet 221 Construction Kumar Satellite Communications (Covering Latest Digital Satellite Technologies and 222 Systems) Dr. D.C. Agarwal Sociology for All Indian Universities MA Entrance Complied by: Khanna 223 Examination Editorial Team 224 Soil Testing for Engineers S. Mittal and J.P. Shukla 225 Solar Energy Utilisation G.D. Rai Solved Examples in 226 Chemical Engineering Dr. G.K. Roy Solved Problems in Power 227 Electronics Ashok Kumar SSC-JE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (Previous years solved and practice Complied by: Khanna 228 paper) Editorial Team SSC-JE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (Previous years solved and practice Complied by: Khanna 229 paper) Editorial Team Statistical Quality Control 230 & Quality Management R.C. Gupta 231 Strength of Materials Dr. Sadhu Singh Study of Electrical 232 Appliances & Devices K.B. Bhatia 233 Surface Transportation R. Agor 234 Surveying G. Singh & J. Singh Switchgear Protection and Power Systems (Theory, Practice & Solved 235 Problems) Prof. Sunil S. Rao Testing, Commissioning, Operation and Maintenance 236 of Electrical Equipments Prof. Sunil S. Rao 237 The Idea of Green Building A.K. Jain 238 Theory & Problems in S.K. Behera and Y.K. Chemical Reaction Mohanty CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 16 of 29 Engineering Theory & Solved Problems in Chemical Principles and 239 Process Calculations K.L. Shivabassappa Theory and Design of Hydraulic Machines including Basic Fluid 240 Mechanics Dr. V.P. Vasandani Theory and Solved Problems in Advanced 241 Strength of Materials Dr. Sadhu Singh 242 Theory of Elasticity Dr. Sadhu Singh Theory of Machines & 243 Mechanisms Prof. P.L. Ballaney Theory of Plasticity & 244 Metal Forming Process Dr. Sadhu Singh Theory of Power Cable Accessories Cable 245 Installation and Testing T.S. Swaminathan Thermal Engineering (Engineering Thermodynamics & Energy 246 Conversion Techniques) Prof. P.L. Ballaney Thyristor Engineering 247 (Power Electronics) M.S. Berde Tool Engineering and 248 Design G.R. Nagpal Dr. K.C. Jain, Mukesh Pandey and Nitin 249 Total Quality Management Shrivastava Traffic Engineering and 250 Transport Planning Dr. L.R. Kadiyali Transportation Engineering Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 251 Vol I Prof. S.P. Chandola Transportation Engineering Prof. V.N. Vazirani and 252 Vol II Prof. S.P. Chandola UGC NET / SET ( JRF & Dr. M. Akhila and Dr. A. 253 LS ) COMMERCE Meenakshi UGC NET/ SET ( JRF & Complied by : N. Vishnu LS ) ENGLISH Prabha and Assisted by J. 254 LITERATURE Praveen Prabhu CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 17 of 29 UPPCL उतर पददश पपवर ककरपपरदशन ललममटदड (Stenographer and Office Complied by: Khanna 255 Assistant) Editorial Team UPPCL उतर पददश पपवर ककरपपरदशन ललममटदड Complied by: Khanna 256 (Technician Line) Editorial Team Utilization Generation & Conservation of Electrical 257 Energy Prof. Sunil S. Rao Water Supply, Waste Disposal and Environmental 258 Engineering A.K. Chatterjee Prof. R.L. Agarwal and 259 Welding Engineering Prof. Tahil Manghnani Welding Engineering and 260 Technology Dr. R.S. Parmar Welding Processes and 261 Technology Dr. R.S. Parmar 262 Welding Technology Dr. N.K. Srinivasan Wireless Communication From 1G. 2G. 3G TO 4G With 500+ Short Questions-
Answers and 700+ 263 Multiple-Choice Questions Ashok Raj Workshop Technology Part One Manufacturing 264 Processes Tikam Lal Chaudhary Workshop Technology-I (As per SBTE, Jharkhand Syllabus of First Semester Complied by: Khanna 265 Polytechnic Students) Editorial Team Zoology (For All Indian Universities MSc Entrance Complied by: Khanna 266 Examination) Editorial Team उतर पददश पपललस आरकक (Police Constable) भरर Complied by: Khanna 267 परककप-2018 Editorial Team
5. It has been further stated that in February, 2013, Mr. Sumeet Verma on behalf of Defendant had approached Mr. Kratu CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 18 of 29 Khanna, the partner of Plaintiff firm with the proposal to sell the books published by the Plaintiff on the online platform of the Defendant KopyKitab.com. after discussions, it was agreed that the Plaintiff would grant a license to sell its books in pdf. format to the Defendant for a consideration based on revenue sharing model wherein the Plaintiff was entitled to receive 50% of the total revenue earned from the sale and accordingly, an agreement was executed between the Plaintiff firm and Defendant Company dated 02.03.2013 at Delhi and it was agreed that the Agreement was to be valid for a period of 3 years upon expiry of which it could be renewed by mutual consent and the said period of 3 years expired in March, 2016. It has been further stated that in order to keep pace with the ongoing change in the technology, the Plaintiff ventured into online sale of its e-books firstly through the Defendant Company under the name Kopykitab under a non- exclusive arrangement to sell the e-books of Khanna Publishers online since the year 2013 and thereafter through its own website i.e. www.khannapublishers.in since the year 2019.
6. It has been further stated that the in March, 2016 the Agreement entered into between the Plaintiff and Defendant came to an end due to efflux of time and consequently, the parties entered into fresh discussions regarding renewal of the arrangement and thereafter, pending the renewal of the Agreement both the Parties were continuing the business bonafidely as per the terms of the earlier Agreement and at many instances there were verbal discussions between the representatives of the Defendant and the Plaintiff for the renewal of the agreement, yet somehow the agreement renewal kept on CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 19 of 29 lingering since the business was continuing smoothly and it was understood between the Parties that soon the agreement would be renewed.
7. It has been further stated that in the year 2019-2020, Plaintiff was streamlining its e-books, and it became vigilant of the grant of licences for usage of its contents by other online platforms. Plaintiff while continuing its business with Defendant once again insisted on executing a fresh agreement/ renew its agreement, however, because of the pandemic, the agreement renewal process got delayed and it was observed by the Plaintiff that during this period the delays on the part of the Defendant in making payment of the amount dues to the Plaintiff kept on increasing. Plaintiff made repeated requests and communications for timely payments and execution of renewal agreement but all requests of the Plaintiff in this regard fell on deaf ears and despite repeated requests and follow ups for execution of agreement and pending payment, in the month of April 2021 Plaintiff vide email dated 05.04.2021 categorically called upon the Defendant to undertake no further sale of the e-books belonging to the Plaintiff till all the outstanding dues were cleared and renewal agreement was executed.
8. It has been further stated that even after repeated written mail requests when Defendant Company did not adhere to the requests, the Plaintiff firm vide letter dated 10.06.2021 called upon the Defendant Company to clear the outstanding dues and stop further sale of the e-books till a fresh agreement was executed and since there was no response from the Defendant, the Plaintiff vide email dated 14.06.2021 sent the letter dated CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 20 of 29 10.06.2021, however, despite receipt of the same there was no response from the Defendant and accordingly, the Plaintiff was constrained to issue a cease-and-desist notice to the Defendant on 13.09.2021, however, the Defendant Company despite the receipt of the notice neither responded to the same nor complied with same and in fact, the Defendant even post receipt of the notice continued to unauthorizedly sell e-books of the Plaintiff on its platform. Hence, the plaintiff has filed the present suit seeking relief of permanent injunction restraining the Defendant from selling its book and recovery of Rs. 1,97,235/- alongwith interest @ 18 % and further, damages to the tune of Rs.10,00,000/-, etc.
9. Summons of the suit were issued to the defendant which was duly served upon the defendant and learned counsel for defendant has appeared on 05.11.2022 and filed memo of appearance and sought some time to file written statement and despite given time neither written statement was filed nor anybody appeared on behalf of defendant to join the proceedings of the suit. Hence, defendant was proceeded ex-parte vide order dated 20.12.2022.
10. In order to prove its case plaintiff has examined its AR Sh. Kratu Khanna as PW1 who tendered his evidence way of affi- davit Ex.PW1/A & ex. PW1/B and relied upon the documents i.e. Ex. PW1/2 to Ex. PW1/23.
11. Ex-parte arguments were heard from Sh. P.C. Arya, Ld. Counsel for the plaintifft.
12. I have considered the arguments and have gone through the record. As stated above in order to prove its case plaintiff has CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 21 of 29 examined Sh. Kratu Khanna as PW1 who in his testimony has almost repeated the same facts as stated in the plaint, therefore, same are not repeated here. He has also relied upon the following documents :-
1. Scanned copy of letters of authority in the name of Ms. Geeta Khanna and Sh. Kratu Khanna as Mark A (Colly.)
2. Printouts of website www.khannapublishers.in as Ex. PW1/2 (Colly. 11 pages).
3. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and A.B. Mathur as Ex. PW1/3A (OSR).
4. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and B.P. Verma as Ex. PW1/3B (OSR).
5. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and B.S. Manke as Ex. PW1/3C (OSR).
4. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and K.C. Jain as Ex. PW1/3D (OSR).
5. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and M. Adithan as Ex. PW1/3E (OSR).
6. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and Rameshwar Agor as Ex. PW1/3F (OSR).
7. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and R.C. Gupta as Ex. PW1/3G (OSR).
8. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and Rajendra Prasad as Ex. PW1/3H (OSR).
9. Agreement between Khanna Publishers and S.C. Sharma as Ex. PW1/3I (OSR).
10. CD as Ex. PW1/4.CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 22 of 29
11. Agreement dated 2.3.2013 as Ex. PW1/5 (OSR).
12. E-mail dated 5.4.2021 as Ex. PW1/6.
13. Letter dated 10.6.2021 as Ex. PW1/7.
14. E-mail dated 14.6.2021 as Ex. PW1/8.
15. Letter dated 30.7.2021 as Ex. PW1/9.
16. E-mail dated 17.6.2021 as Ex. PW1/10.
17. E-mail dated 18.6.2021 as Ex. PW1/11.
18. E-mail dated 19.6.2021 as Ex. PW1/12.
19. Cease and desist notice dated 4.9.2021 sent through e-mail dated 13.9.2021 as Ex.
PW1/13.
20. Printout of website of defendant as Ex.
PW1/14.
21. Printout of invoices as Ex. PW1/15 (Colly. 23 invoices).
22. Ledger account as Mark B
23. Affidavit as per Order 11 Rule 6(3) of the Commercial Courts Act read with Section 65B of the Evidence Act as Ex. PW1/17.
24. Letter of authority is Ex. PW1/18.
25. Copy of printout of email dated 27.09.2022 & 11.10.2022 is Ex. PW1/19.
26. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
2,921/- is Ex. PW1/20.
27. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs. 7,754/-
is Ex. PW1/20A.
28. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 23 of 291,483/- is Ex. PW1/20B.
29. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
7,754/- is Ex. PW1/20C.
30. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
1,483/- is Ex. PW1/20D.
31. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
7,754/- is Ex. PW1/20E.
32. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
7,754/- is Ex. PW1/20F.
33. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
1,357/- is Ex. PW1/20G.
34. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
2,921/- is Ex. PW1/20H.
35. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
1,483/- is Ex. PW1/20I.
36. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
7,754/- is Ex. PW1/20J.
37. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
2,921/- is Ex. PW1/20K.
38. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
1,483/- is Ex. PW1/20L.
39. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
1,357/- is Ex. PW1/20M.
40. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
1,483/- is Ex. PW1/20N.
41. Copy of printout of purchase order of Rs.
1,483/- is Ex. PW1/20O.
42. Printout of ledger for the period 01.04.2022 to CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 24 of 29 19.05.2023 is Ex. PW1/21.
43. Printout of invoice dated 04.05.2022 is Ex.PW1/22.
44. Printout of invoice dated 18.06.2022 is Ex.PW1/22A.
45. Printout of invoice dated 04.07.2022 is Ex.PW1/22B.
46. Printout of invoice dated 10.10.2022 is Ex.PW1/22C.
47. Printout of invoice dated 31.03.2023 is Ex.PW1/22D.
48. Printout of invoice dated 19.05.2023 is Ex.PW1/22E.
49. Printout of invoice no. KP/310/21-22 dated 01.07.2021 is Ex.PW1/22F.
50. Printout of invoice no. KP/311/21-22 dated 01.07.2021 is Ex.PW1/22G.
51. Printout of invoice no. KP/357/21-22 dated 06.07.2021 is Ex.PW1/22J.
52. Printout of invoice dated 29.07.2021 is Ex.PW1/22K.
53. Printout of invoice no. KP/910/21-22 dated 19.08.2021 is Ex.PW1/22L.
54. Printout of invoice no. KP/912/21-22 dated 19.08.2021 is Ex.PW1/22M.
55. Printout of invoice dated 01.09.2021 is Ex.PW1/22N.
56. Printout of invoice dated 12.10.2021 is CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 25 of 29 Ex.PW1/22O.
57. Printout of invoice no. KP/2564/21-22 dated 24.01.2022 is Ex.PW1/22P.
58. Printout of invoice no. KP/2568/21-22 dated 24.01.2022 is Ex.PW1/22Q.
59. Printout of invoice no. KP/2569/21-22 dated 24.01.2022 is Ex.PW1/22R.
60. Printout of invoice dated 05.02.2022 is Ex.PW1/22S.
61. Printout of invoice dated 02.03.2022 is Ex.PW1/22T.
62. Printout of invoice no. KP/265/21-22 dated 28.06.2021 is Ex.PW1/22U.
63. Printout of invoice no. KP/266/21-22 dated 28.06.2021 is Ex.PW1/22V.
64. Printout of invoice dated 31.03.2022 is Ex.PW1/22W.
65. Printout of invoice dt. 11.06.2022 is Ex.
PW1/22Y.
66. Printout of invoice dt. 09.05.2022 is Ex.
PW1/22Z.
67. Printout of invoice dt. 11.06.2022 is Ex.
PW1/22AA.
68. Printout of invoice dt. 20.04.2022 is Ex.
PW1/22AB.
69. Printout of invoice dt. 13.10.2021 is Ex.
PW1/22AC.
70. Certificate u/s 65B of Indian Evidence Act is CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 26 of 29 Ex. PW1/23.
13. Since none has appeared on behalf of defendant to cross examine PW1, therefore, the testimony of PW1 is remained re- mained unchallenged, uncontroverted and unrebutted, therefore, I held that plaintiff through the unrebutted and unchallenged testi- mony of PW1 and unchallenged and unrebutted testimony and aforementioned documents has been able to prove that plaintiff is a registered partnership firm engaged in the business of publishing and plaintiff has copyright ownership over the aforesaid books detail of which is given above and the plaintiff by virtue of agreement executed in 2013 with defendant had al- lowed to sell e-books of the books in which Plaintiff has copy- right ownership and it was agreed that the Plaintiff would grant a license to sell its books in pdf. format to the defendant for a con- sideration based on revenue sharing model wherein the plaintiff was entitled to receive 50% of the total revenue earned from the sale and the said agreement was to be valid for a period of 3 years upon expiry of which it could be renewed by mutual consent which expired by efflux of time. Since same was not re- newed therefore after issue of cease-and-desist notice to the defendant dt. 13.09.2021, defendant has remained no rights to aforesaid books. Hence publication of e-books after said that is unauthorized.
14. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances, I held that plaintiff is entitled to decree for permanent injunction restraining the defendant, its directors, agents, distributors, partners or any person claiming under them or through them from selling, offering for sale ebooks which plaintiff had allowed CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 27 of 29 the defendant to sell, the details of same are mentioned in para-4 of this judgment, through any online portals.
15. Further, from the testimony of PW1 and invoices Ex. PW1/22, EX. PW1/22A to Ex. PW1/22G, Ex. PW1/22J to Ex. PW1/22W, Ex. PW1/22Y to Ex. PW1/22Z, Ex. PW1/22AA to Ex. PW1/ 22AC and ledger E. PW1/21, it is also proved that plaintiff has sold goods to the plaintiff and from ledger account EXPW1/21 it is evident that a sum of Rs. 192509/- is due as on 19.05.23, therefore, I held that plaintiff is entitled to said amount i.e. Rs. 192509/- from the defendant. Further, since defendant has deprived the plaintiff from use of said amount, therefore, defendant will be liable to pay interest @ 12% per annum simple interest on said amount from the date of filing of suit till the date of decree and thereafter till its realization.
16. As far as rendition of account is concern, since the defendant did not choose to appear and stay away from the present proceedings so as to thwart any enquiry into their account for determination of damages. As a result, no inquiry into their accounts could be conducted, for this court to pass an order of rendition of accounts of profits and delivery up, so as to compensate the plaintiff for the extent of damages suffered by them. But, that alone would not be a deterrent. Merely because the defendant has deliberately elected to stay away from the court proceedings, cannot be a ground to permit them to reap the benefits of evading the suit proceedings and its outcome. In my view since defendant is not present no purpose would be served by directing defendant to render its account as he will not render the same willfully and it would be impossible for plaintiff to get CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 28 of 29 the same and thus calculate the profit earned by defendant by selling infringed goods. Hence, I am not passing decree of rendition of accounts.
17. As far as the damages of Rs.10,00,000/-(rupees ten lakh) is concerned, plaintiff did not produce any evidence that defendant has published any e- book after cease and desist notice therefore therefore, I held that plaintiff is not entitled to any damages.
Relief
18. In view of above discussion, I pass a decree for permanent injunction in favour of plaintiff restraining the defendant, its directors, agents, distributors, partners or any person claiming under them or through them from selling, offering for sale ebooks which plaintiff had allowed the defendant to sell, the details of same are mentioned in para-4 of this judgment, through any online portals.
19. Further, I pass a decree for a sum of Rs. 192509/- in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendant. Further, I held that defendant will be liable to pay interest @ 12% per annum simple interest on said amount from the date of filing of suit till the date of decree and thereafter till its realization from the defendant. Plaintiff will be entitled to proportionate costs. The rest of the relief sought by plaintiff is declined. Decree sheet be prepared accordingly.
File be consigned to Record Room.
Pronounced in open Court on 03.01.2024.
(Sanjeev Kumar Aggarwal) District Judge (Commercial Court)-01, Central, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi.
CS (Comm.) No. 2173/22 Page No. 29 of 29