Title: ITC Limited Virginia House v Britannia Industries Ltd.
Citation: O.S.A.(CAD).Nos.134 to 138 of 2023
Coram: The Hon’ble Mr.Sanjay V.Gangapurwala, Chief Justice And The Hon’ble Mr.Justice D.Bharatha Chakravarthy
Decided On: 08.11.2023
Introduction:
In the above applications, the respondent herein has prayed for interim injunction restraining the appellant herein from (i) indulging in unfair competition; (ii) infringement of their registered trademarks, (iii) passing off their goods as that of the plaintiff; (iv) infringement of copyright in the original artistic work in the wrapper; and (v) from diluting the goodwill and reputation of the plaintiff’s trade dress and colour scheme. In this judgment the parties are referred to as per their array in the suit.
Facts:
The plaintiff, Britannia Industries Limited, filed the above suit pleading that it was established in the year 1892, from which date, it has been manufacturing biscuits in India. It’s name itself has gained high reputation and goodwill and it has several products in the market which are very well known among the consuming public. While so, it has also adopted the mark ‘GOOD DAY‘ in the year 1986 and by virtue of continuous extensive use, advertisement and maintenance of high quality, GOOD DAY biscuits is a well known trademark throughout the country. Under the said umbrella mark, they are making and selling Butter Cookies, Cashew Cookies, Nut Cookies, Pista Badam Cookies, Choco Chunkies etc.
As far as the Butter Cookies are concerned, the petitioner uses the trade dress / wrapper in blue colour with the brand name ‘GOOD DAY‘ and the other devices contained therein. The plaintiff’s mark has been registered in different combinations vide Application Nos.4182344, 5186937, 5186938, 5186939, 5186940 in respect of Clause – 30. The plaintiff’s mark, along with colour scheme, getup and style, has been recognised as well known mark by the Intellectual Appellate Board and also by the Delhi High Court in the connected litigations.
The defendant is selling their similar products under their brand name ‘SUNFEAST‘ by adopting the trademark Mom’s Magic. Whileso, with a dishonest intention to cash in on the goodwill and reputation of the plaintiff and to pass off its products as that of the plaintiff, suddenly, in the month of March, 2023, started selling their products also in an identical blue colour trade dress / wrapper. If the products are placed side by side, it would be difficult to differentiate even with a careful observation. It is the case of the defendant that it is one of the India’s leading private sector Companies having formidable presence in diversified fields. Its branded packaged food business is one of the fastest growing food businesses in India and it has several leading brands including that of ‘SUNFEAST ‘.
It has adopted the visual elements and packaging in tune with its consumer preferences over a period of time and such modifications were made lastly in the year 2020. The defendant, with the same visual elements, has been selling the product in red based wrapper from the year 2020. Without altering the lay out or getup and packaging and not modifying the trade dress in any manner whatsoever, the defendant merely and simply changed the packaging colour of Sunfeast Mom’s Magic Butter Cookies to blue in line with the packaging colours of its Butter Cookies.
Judge’s Analysis and Judgment:
The learned Single Judge considered the case of the parties and found that the plaintiff has been using the trade dress with elements and colour combination since 1997 for its Butter Cookies and has built a considerable consumer base. Though the arguments relating to monopoly over a colour are raised by the defendant at the first blush appears to be correct, since the product has been sold in the said colour combination for over two decades, the same has to become associated with that of the plaintiff’s product and therefore, the plaintiff is entitled to protect its trademark. The defendant started selling Butter Cookies in the year 2014, but it has been selling only in red wrapper.
There is no explanation as to why they suddenly adopted the blue colour and the adoption appears to be dishonest with an intention to infringe trade mark of the plaintiff and pass off their goods. The defendant even now continues to pack its product in red wrapper in North India, but, the blue colour has now been introduced only in South India. The argument that the blue colour is common for the trade is not proved by them and the plaintiff has demonstrated that the other popular brands are selling in different shades.
The judge decided that the previous judgement on stopping the Mom’s Magic from packaging blue was right, and in the present appeal the appellant was directed to follow the same, But they were allowed to sell the existing stock of their products packed.
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Written by- Sushant Kumar Sharma
