Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 2: Supreme Court of India has upheld the decision of Delhi High Court which restrained the manufacturers of Sharbat named ‘Dil Afza’ from selling the product.
It came after Hamdard National Foundation (India), part of Hamdard Laboratories India, filed a trademark infringement suit alleging that the brand ‘Dil Afza’ and its bottle design were deceptively similar to its ‘Rooh Afza’ and it was intentionally done to ride on the popularity of the iconic brand ‘Rooh Afza’.
A handout of Hamdard claimed that the decision has vindicated their stand on the whole issue.
“As CJI DY Chandrachud observed in his ruling that it can’t be denied that Rooh Afza has a well-established reputation in India and Rooh Afza is a heritage brand, which has been around for over a century. Over time, it has won the hearts and palates of people all around the country and beyond and the brand has come to be associated with feelings of happiness, togetherness and nostalgia for most Indians,” it continued.
This comes in the wake of another judgment by Delhi High Court a few months back that restrained the sale of an identical product from Pakistan under the Rooh Afza trademark on Amazon.in.
It was observed that the infringing product from Pakistan did not comply with Indian Food Safety and Standards Act and a host of legal mandates that govern and regulate such products in India.
“Our eventful journey, passion and hard work behind the brand cannot be undone by a clever entity out to exploit the market by concocting a similar product, which may sound or look similar,” the handout maintained.
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