Nature Fresh Pvt. Ltd. obtained registration of the trade mark "GREENBITE" in 2016 for packaged fruit juices. However, after registration, the company did not start production or sale of fruit juices under the said trade

Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act 1999 deals with removal of a trade mark from the register on the ground of non-use and provides that a trade mark which is not used within five years of its registration, becomes liable for removal either completely or in respect of those goods or services for which the mark has not been used. The five years period starts from the date on which the trade mark is actually entered on the register. However, Section 47(3) protects a mark from being removed from the register on ground of non-use if such non-use is shown to have been due to special circumstances in the trade which may include restriction imposed by any law or regulation on the use of trade mark in India and not to any intention to abandon or not to use the trade mark in relation to the goods or services to which the application relates. In the present case, the trade mark "GREENBITE" was registered in 2016, and more than five years have elapsed without use of the mark, making it liable to be removed from the register on the ground of non-use. However, Nature Fresh Pvt. Ltd. contends that the non-use occurred due to government restrictions on the import of certain ingredients required for manufacturing the fruit juices If these restrictions prevented the company from producing the goods and using the trade mark, it may constitute special circumstances in trade. Therefore, if Nature Fresh Pvt. Ltd. proves that the non-use of the trade mark was due to government restrictions and not due to an intention to abandon the mark, the non-use may be justified under Section 47(3) and the trade mark may not be removed from the register.