Selvarajah Mahera Kanth vs MTN Networks (Pvt) Ltd. – SC CHC. APPEAL NO. 33/2006-2016

In the case between Selvarajah Mahera Kanth, doing business as Marken Enterprises (Plaintiff-Appellant), and MTN Networks (Pvt) Ltd. (Defendant-Respondent), the court considered whether the industrial design registrations for envelopes (P5 and P6) possessed the required novelty to be valid under the Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979 and No. 36 of 2003. It was determined that the envelope designs lacked novelty, being functional in nature and previously supplied in an identical form by the Plaintiff prior to registration. The findings established that the registrations were flawed, and the evidence failed to demonstrate infringement by the Defendant. The Plaintiff’s appeal was dismissed, reaffirming the principle that mere registration of a design does not confer exclusive ri