In Brief
P.M. Diesels Ltd. owned three registered trade marks featuring "Field Marshal" dating from 1964-1968. When Patel Field Marshal applied to register "Marshal" in 1982, P.M. Diesels sued for infringement. The defendants challenged the validity of P.M. Diesels' marks and separately filed rectification applications. The Supreme Court held that when an infringement suit is pending and invalidity is raised, the Civil Court must determine if prima facie tenability exists and frame an appropriate issue. If no rectification application is filed within the statutory timeframe, the right to invalidity is deemed abandoned and cannot be revived through separate rectification proceedings. Sections 46/56 and 107/111 of the Trade Marks Act operate in parallel but under different procedural regimes.
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