TRADEMARK CASE IN FOURTH DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19238, 27 November 1930, Page 9

TRADEMARK CASE IN FOURTH DAY.

DEFENCE UPHOLDS USE .OF CAPITALS “ R.N.F.” The fourth day of the plough share case, in which an English engineering firm is suing a local firm for infringement of trademark rights, brought forward more evidence for the defence at the Supreme Court to-day. The plaintiff is Ransome, Sims and Jefferies, Ltd., of Ipswich, and the defendent P. and D. Duncan, Ltd., of Christchurch. His Honor, Mr Justice Adams, presided. Mr Peacock, of Wellington, appeared for the plaintiff, while Mr Upham, and with him Mr White, represented the defendent. The plaintiff’s claim is that the defendent company has infringed plaintiff’s trademarks by manufacturing and selling shares for ploughs bearing the mark, “RNF,” and by advertising that it manufactures and sells “RNF” shares and “RNF” heads. Plaintiff claims an injunction to restrain the defendent from infringing the trademark, an order for delivery up to the plaintiff of all ploughs or parts of ploughs in the defendant's possession bearing the plaintiff’s mark, such further relief as the Court might deem fit, and the costs of the action. “We can establish that we began to use the mark RNF in 1883,” said Mr Upham. “We have used it continuously since then, but only as a pattern mark, never as a trademark. Till 1915 it was used with the trademark “P. and P. Duncan,” and after that with “P. and .D. D.” Lionel Lingwood Cordery, secretary and director of P. and D. Duncan and Co., Ltd., said that he became secretary to the company in 1905. Ever since he entered the company 40 years ago, catalogues had been issued almost every year. Booth, Macdonald and Co., the agents of the plaintiff, would get two of the catalogues every year, as would the rest of the trade. Booth, Macdonald and Co. had purchased P. and D. D. RNF shares from P. and D. Duncan, Ltd. Up till 1923, Booth Macdonald and Co. made shares of their own and also sold Ransome’s imported shares. They marked their own shares “Booth, Ch. Ch.” and “RNF.” Of one big order made with P. and D. Duncan some of the shares were sent to Booth, Macdonald and Co.’s branch at Masterton, and some were sent to their Christchurch factory. The Booth, Macdonald list of shares distinguished between theii* own shares and the imported shares, and the defendant company’s shares. The catalogue plainly distinguished between the imported RNF shares and the RNF shares made by P. and D. Duncan, Ltd. (Proceeding.)