Trademark Infringement: Famous Infringement cases in India

• Home
• /
• Knowledge Base
• /
• IPR Services
• /
• Trademark Infringement
• /
• Trademark Infringement: Famous Infringement cases in India

Trademark Infringement: Famous Infringement cases in India

A lot has already been said about trademark infringement cases in India, the damages it causes to one's enterprise, and the remedies that can be used in such cases. Now, let us look at some famed examples of the Trademark Infringement cases in India that received national and international coverage, where we will discuss different situations in which filing for trademark infringement is justified or not.

Bata versus Bata

In the 1980's Bata, the shoemaker company filed for trademark infringement against a company for using the same brand name, which sold foam materials. The court questioned the latter that a customer coming to purchase shoes would not inquire if a product were being made by the shoemaker BATA.

As a result, even though both companies operated in distinct commercial realms, Bata, the shoemaker, won the case.

Eclairs: Cadbury versus ITC

Cadbury had previously registered three trademarks in India that included the name Eclairs. It even holds the right to use the shade of purple on chocolate wrappers in some regions. The three registered trademarks are for

• Chocolate Eclairs
• Orange Flavoured Chocolate Eclairs
• Chocolate Eclairs Pop

But Cadbury, despite being registered in 1972, didn't use any of these trademarks. So on the grounds of being latent, more than one decade later, the court announced the verdict in favor of ITC in 2015 on account of non-usage of the registered brand name.

Also Read: 7 Biggest Trademark Infringement Cases in Recent History

Paypal versus PayTM 

Both these companies provide digital payment gateways to their customers. Both Paypal and Paytm target the same audience in the Indian market. But Paytm is far more popular than Paypal in the Indian market.

Paytm is used by the masses, whereas Paypal is an internationally recognized brand whose operations in India are limited to eBay shoppers, forex investors, crypto enthusiasts, and some IT software professionals who regularly transact with the global world.

Paypal's cause of worry is that if Paytm finds its place in the global market, then Paypal will lose its position and business in the global marketplace. Fearing this, in 2016, Paypal filed for trademark infringement against Paytm for using its logo and having this homogeneity with each other's brand name.

In their trademark infringement lawsuit filed in the Indian trademark office, Paypal accused Paytm of using the same two-tone color scheme as theirs. This case is still going on and may take several years to get the final verdict.

London Dairy versus Londonderry

The plaintiff, London Dairy, sells premium-quality ice cream, and the defendant, Londonderry, sells inexpensive confectionery items. Unfortunately, both of these brands sound similar phonetically, creating confusion among the customers.

London Dairy stated this was a clear case of infringement to which the Bombay High Court disagreed because, according to the court, everything besides the sound of their brand names was different. The court held that no law says that a single pronunciation test will be sufficient to overcome all other points of differentiation.

Also, there were no visual or structural similarities between their products and no similarities in colors, trade dress, goods, and pricing.

Why register for Trademark?

Trademark infringement is not something new in this world. We all have, at some point, used infringed products because they provide us with the illusion of owning a quality, branded product that falls within our meager charges.

This has happened to us in our formative years. But this sort of encouragement from the consumer side to purchase subpar products will harm us in the long run. Our continuous purchase of these counterfeited products will slowly orient the market towards the business of lower-quality goods and services. So the registered trademark businesses will pull out of the market, and we will be left with nothing but infringed subpar products. This will reduce our standard of living and the quality of our life.

So take this responsibility onto yourself and always choose the quality original products and subscribe to trademark registered companies services. And to such unregistered businesses, I would say, do not put your company and your hard work at risk. Right away, secure your business with us by registering the Trademark for your company with us at Registrationwala.   

• 1672 views

Blog Search