By Ghanavi Umesh
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Trademark infringement is one offence that is ubiquitous. A lot of small firms try to pass off their own goods by using the trademarks of established companies and thus tarnish their hard-earned goodwill. While one might think that this is injurious to the large firms only, the consumers also bear the brunt of it. Low quality products are sold in the name of established brands are sold at high prices thus exploiting consumers. This is why, trademark infringement is treated as an offence punishable with imprisonment.
The first two articles in this series dealt with the substantial and the procedural aspects of Trademark law. This article will list some famous trademark infringement cases in India and abroad.
1. Adidas v. Forever21
Adidas is known for the three-stripe design in its clothing products. Reports suggest that Adidas invested millions to build and protect the three stripe design which is an extension of the three stripes in its logo as a trademark component. However, they ran into a problem when Forever21 tried to bring the three-stripe design into their own clothing line. Both Forever21 and Adidas sell similar products and have similar distribution channels. Adidas filed a lawsuit against Forever21 for trademark infringement. While the lawsuit is still pending before a US Court, the facts of the case do point to an infringement by Forever21.
2. American Eagle v. Pantaloons
American Eagle, a US clothing brand owned by Retail Royalty Company has sued Pantaloons, an Indian clothing company for having a brand and logo deceptively similarly to its own. This case is still pending before the Delhi High Court and is the perfect example for international trademark infringement in India.
3. Louis Vuitton v. Louis Vuitton Dak
A famous fashion brand all of over the world, a restaurant in South Korea tried to appropriate its goodwill by adopting the name with a small addition and a very similar logo. The packaging adopted by the restaurant was also very similar to the original Louis Vuitton. However, the restaurant lost the case to Louis Vuitton as the court found that the restaurant had infringed on the popular trademark. It was also slapped with a fine of 14.5 million dollars. They also had to immediately change their name to LouisVuiTonDak.
4. ISKCON v. ISKCON Apparel Pvt. Ltd.
ISKCON is a well-known organization which has about 600 temples all around the world. It is also known for its charity work. The defendant however was a clothing company which adopted the same name. The Bombay High Court found that ISKCON was a popular name and selling the clothing under the same name is bound to confuse consumers. The decision was in favour of the religious organization and the clothing brand had to change their name to Alcis Sports Pvt. Ltd.
5. ITC Limited v. Rani Sati Foods Private Ltd.
The Madras High Court in this case granted an injunction restraining the defendant from selling its product under the ‘Aashirvaad’ trademark. It was recognized that the Aashirvaad trademark was popular among consumers due to its atta products of high quality and its long existence in the market. The defendant by using the name had thus infringed the plaintiff’s trademark.
6. Starbucks v. Freddoccino
New York’s Coffee Culture Café ran into trouble when they released the drink ‘Freddoccino’ as it was similar to Starbucks’ famous Frappuccino in name, texture and packaging for which the latter had a registered trademark. Coffee Culture Café immediately changed the name of their drink to Freddo, however Starbucks went ahead and filed a suit. The case is still pending before a US Court.
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Ghanavi Umesh is a 2nd year student at National Law University Delhi. She has a keen interest in Constitutional law, Environmental law and Intellectual Property law. She is also interested in Economics and Philosophy. One can either find her reading something or bingeing on a TV show in her leisure time. She also loves painting occasionally.
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