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"Notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiffs' business was primarily carried on abroad they had nonetheless a reputation in this country which could be injured by confusion. Accordingly, the plaintiffs arc entitled to interlocutory injunction to restrain the defendant from advertising in a way calculated to suggest association with the plaintiffs."

29. The third decision is N. R. Dongre v. Whirlpool Corporation, . This was a passing off action instituted by Whirlpool Corporation against an Indian Company, seeking grant of an ad interim injunction preventing the defendant from passing of its goods as those of the plaintiffs by use of trade mark "WHIRLPOOL". One of the questions before the Court was whether the plaintiff who was not selling in India could claim the benefit of trans-border reputation in trade mark "WHIRLPOOL" so as to maintain a passing off action in India or should its goodwill and reputation be confined to territories in which it has proved actual use of the trade mark in the market. The documents filed in the proceedings proved that some limited sales had been made to US Embassy and USAID in India and that the "WHIRLPOOL" products had been advertised in magazines having international circulation including in India. The Delhi High Court held that the plaintiff could bank upon transborder reputation of its washing machines for the purpose of maintaining passing off action in India.

30. While upholding that decision, the Apex Court held that even though there was no sale in India, the reputation of the plaintiff company was travelling transborder to India as well through commercial publicity made in magazines which are available in or about in India. The following is the gist of the finding :--

"The 'WHIRLPOOL' has acquired reputation and goodwill in this country and the same has become associated in the minds of the public. Even advertisement of trade mark without existence of goods in the mark is also to be considered as use of the trade mark. The magazines which contain the advertisement do have a circulation in the higher and upper middle income strata of Indian society. Therefore, the plaintiff acquired transborder reputation in respect of the trade mark 'WHIRLPOOL' and has a right to protect the invasion thereof."
The rapidly gtowing international trade makes it imperative that intellectual property rights arc properly recognised and managed in different countries of the globe. National protection is no longer adequate to safeguard intellectual property rights which can easily be pirated or copied by nationals of other countries and exploited in their own market or even in international markets. International remedies for such infringement are necessary. .............. It would be comforting for the international community to know that reputation of trade marks of overseas companies is being recognised in India and there have been significant judicial precedents on the question of transborder or spill-over of international reputation."

41. As a matter of fact, the learned single Judge has referred to in the impugned order the decisions, namely, Sheraton Corporation of America case, 1964 RFC 20? Ch D and Tiger Balm case, 1995 ILR (2) Mad 209, cited by the plaintiff, relating to transborder reputation, which would afford sufficient basis for the grant of injunction. But even then the learned single Judge did not consider them in detail in order to find out whether those decisions would be applicable to this case or not.

42. The learned counsel for the defendant, the respondent herein, has referred to various decisions in support of his contention, which are as follows : --