SC holds against Maharaja Organisation over use of MTV

The Supreme Court delivered its judgment on 30 June dismissing a SC Appeal preferred by Maharaja Organisation Ltd., upholding a preliminary objection raised in respect of the maintainability thereof by Viacom International Inc. (USA). 

The said judgment was delivered by a three-judge Bench comprising of Justice P. Padman Surasena, E.A.G.R. Amarasekara and Mahinda Samayawardhena. Romesh De Silva P.C., with R. Balasubramaniam, Sugath Caldera and Shanaka Cooray Attorneys-at-Law appeared for Maharaja Organisation. Dr. K. Kanag-Isvaran P.C. with Dr. Harsha Cabral P.C., and Kushan Illangatillake Attorney-at-Law appeared for Viacom International Inc.

The subject matter of the said Supreme Court appeal had been a Mark application consisting of the letters ‘MTV’ made by Viacom International Inc. Maharaja Organisation had preferred an appeal to the Commercial High Court from the decision of the Director of Intellectual Property to allow the said Mark application to be registered. 

The Commercial High Court had dismissed the said Commercial High Court appeal upholding a preliminary objection raised by Viacom International Inc., on the basis that the said appeal should have been preferred not by way of a Petition of Appeal but by way of a plaint. Maharaja Organisation had preferred the said Supreme Court appeal from the said Order of the Commercial High Court.  

Viacom International had raised a preliminary objection that the said Supreme Court appeal should have been preferred not as a final appeal but with the leave of the Supreme Court first had and obtained. 

In upholding the said preliminary objection, the Supreme Court had held that by impugned order, the Commercial High Court had merely rejected the petition of the Maharaja Organisation, allowing to present a plaint and therefore, the said order of the Commercial High Court is, at the outset, interlocutory and not final.