Ahmedabad: A commercial court in Ahmedabad restrained a firm, Anand Agrotech, from selling its agricultural commodities, mainly pulses, under the brand name ‘Kohinoor’ after food and FMCG major AWL Agri Business Ltd alleged infringement of its trademark rights.
The suit was filed by AWL Agri Business, through advocate Zahid Shaikh, seeking immediate injunction against Anand Agrotech of the Dhoot Group. It submitted that it was a public limited company established in 1999 as a joint venture between the Adani Group and Wilmar International Ltd, Singapore, with a large FMCG and staples business across India and overseas.
It asserted that the ‘Kohinoor’ mark was used by its predecessor since 1979 and that it has held multiple registrations for the mark since 2003.
The plaintiff AWL submitted that it came to know two months ago that Anand Agrotech was selling its products under the brand name ‘Kohinoor’. It produced photographs of the allegedly infringing goods found at a shop in the city.
Besides seeking to restrain the defendant from using the same brand for its products, the plaintiff also sought damages.
After the preliminary hearing, commercial court judge P I Prajapati on Wednesday granted an ex parte stay on the sale of products under the ‘Kohinoor’ brand by the defendant Anand Agrotech until the pendency of the suit. The court also sought a reply from the defendant.
Comparing the two labels, the court stated, “As apparent from the above comparison, the mark of the defendant is a ditto copy/identical to plaintiff’s mark and this is bound to cause confusion among the general public that this is origin of the defendant’s product and an ordinary person with the imperfect recollection would be easily confused and deceived into believing that the defendant’s goods emanate from the plaintiff.”
The court further said, “Moreover, the dilution and tarnishing of the reputation which the plaintiff’s predecessors have earned through many years of consumer satisfaction would lead to incalculable losses and irreparable damage to their brand value. Furthermore, since the rival products are frequently consumed by the Indian customer, there is a significant public interest which must be borne in mind.”
