A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, in a trademark dispute ruling on May 12, held that Zydus Wellness cannot use the name ‘SugarLite’ for its products, as a Make in India firm named Delhi Marketing held the rights to use the brand name ‘SUGARLITE’.
Consequently, Zydus will no longer be able to use the brand name ‘SugarLite’.
Delhi Marketing, which sells products, such as yogurt under the brand name ‘SUGARLITE’, initiated a suit for trademark violation in 2020 against Zydus’ use of ‘SugarLite’ for its stevia-based sugar. The firm alleged that Zydus was using a deceptively similar mark to confuse the customers. The firm had asked the court to restrain Zydus from using the ‘SugarLite’ name as it was aware that Delhi Marketing held a registered trademark.
However, the trial court rejected the request for injunction and held that the visual appearance of the two marks were different and the products, unrelated. The court further held that different sets of customers purchase the products, and hence, it is less likely that it will confuse the customers.
The High Court, while overruling the lower court’s judgment against Delhi Marketing held that Zydus knowingly adopted an identically similar brand name ‘SugarLite’ despite knowing fully well that Delhi Marketing owned it.
The division bench led by Justice Manmohan, noted that the lower court’s order was passed ‘arbitrarily, capriciously and perversely”. Furthermore, the high court held that Zydus’ mark was identical to that of Delhi Marketing and the products were allied and sold over-the-counter (OTC) to almost the same class of customers. The high court concluded that there is a likelihood of confusion in the minds of the general public as they could assume both the trademarks to have a common source of origin, thus holding that Zydus cannot use the name ‘SugarLite’.
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