Rs. 3 m fine imposed on ‘SUN’ thread counterfeiters

By S.S. Selvanayagam

The Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court imposed a fine of Rs. 3 million against counterfeiters of ‘SUN’ thread, a market leader.

J&P Coats Limited of 155 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5PA, the registered trademark owners in Sri Lanka of the ‘SUN’ brand consumer thread initiated action against JAI T&M Traders of No.49/11, New Moor Street, Colombo 12, for infringing their trademark rights.

The action was filed in the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo, by way of a private plaint, filed through their Attorney in Sri Lanka, Coats Thread Lanka (Pvt) Limited, on the instructions of the local legal representatives, Sudath Perera Associates.

J&P Coats carries on inter alia the business of manufacturing and marketing of thread, zips, yarn, specialty textiles and related goods under several brand names and is a global thread supplier with the reputation as the market leader in sewing thread in both industrial and domestic markets.

It has manufacturing plants in over 40 locations globally and sales and distribution in over 65 countries providing access to an unrivaled network of international expertise and resources.

J&P Coats has been manufacturing, marketing distributing and selling its ‘SUN’ thread in Sri Lanka for over 30 years, solely through its subsidiary, Coats Thread Lanka (Private) Limited.

No other entity or person is authorised or entitled in Sri Lanka to manufacture and/or import and/or market and/or distribute products featuring the aforesaid trademarks of the Plaintiff.

The ‘SUN’ brand thread owned by J&P Coats Limited has gained the reputation as a leading name in domestic and industrial thread market in Sri Lanka and has gained a considerable market share in the local market for thread over decades.

However, as a result of the large quantities of counterfeit products that are being distributed in the island, the reputation that the company has secured over decades is threatened.

J&P Coats contended that the sale of counterfeit ‘SUN’ thread by the accused was in violation of S.121 of the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 and that the accused should be punished under S.186(4) read with Section 186(2) of the act.

At the execution of the search warrant, the police recovered a large quantity of packs containing counterfeit ‘SUN’ thread from the accused premises. The business of the accused is a partnership and both partners were also named as accused in the case.

Although summons was taken out on both accused, one of the accused (the 3rd accused) never appeared in court and accordingly after the due court procedure and leading evidence from the complainant, the court order to proceed with the case ex parte against the 3rd accused. However, when the case was taken up for trial, the 2nd accused was also not present in court.

Thereafter the case was fixed for ex-parte against all accused. At the conclusion of the ex-parte trial against the three defendants, the Judgment was pronounced by Sandun Vithana, the Additional Magistrate of Colombo Court No 6. All three accused were found guilty of all charges and a fine of Rs. 3,000,000 was imposed on them. If the fine is not paid, a sentence of six months imprisonment for each charge was ordered.