The court of the extra assistant judge, Ahmedabad has upheld the plea of CPL claiming copyright of the drug Envas. Consequent to the vertical split of the erstwhile Cadila Laboratories into CPL and CHL way back in 1995, which included division of drugs manufactured by the parent company, the two companies have been locked in a tussle over CPL's cardiocascular drug Envas, an undisputed market leader, with a turnover of around Rs 20 crore.

In this context, CPL fired its first salvo in April last year when it hauled Zydus-Cadila into court by slapping a case against it for violation of copyright in the marketing of its drug Enalaprit Maleate, the generic name of Envas.

CPL alleged that Zydus-Cadila was using the identical design in the strip and box for its drug to encash on the popularity of Envas. In response to the application, an interim injunction was passed by the court in August last year restraining Zydus-Cadila from printing, publishing, advertising and selling Enalaprit Maleate with identical reproduction of artwork of strip and box of Envas till final disposal of the case.

On its part, Zydus-Cadila approached the Gujarat high court which modified the interim order and ordered CHL to deposit Rs 10 lakh with the court and also maintain true and fair accounts of sale and production of Enalaprit Maleate till such time as a final verdict was passed. CPL alleges that Zydus-Cadila continued selling its product in the same form for more than a year after the injunction restraining it from doing so.

However, with the final order of the Ahmedabad court coming through, CPL appears to have scored a major victory with the order categorically maintaining that "it becomes abundantly clear that the plaintiff (CPL) has successfully proved that it holds the copyright as claimed by it and in infringement of the copyright, defendent company is malafidely passing off the suit product as alleged by the plaintiff company."

Furthermore, the final order also bars CHL, servants, agents, dealers, distributors and stockists from "printing, publishing, advertising and using label, strip and box or any label or box which may be substantial and material reproduction of the plaintiff's artwork and thereby they are restrained permanently from committing infringement of plaintiff's copyright in the said artwork."

Additionally, Zydus-Cadila has been directed to withdraw its product from the market and give a "true and correct account of manufacturing and selling of the product in carton and strip" to enable CPL to recover the amount of profit with interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum from the date of suit till realisation. It has also been ordered to bear the legal costs incurred by CPL in fighting the case.

According to sources in CPL, the court's final order is not only a tactical victory for the company but is expected to shore up profits as well which were being adversely affected by sale of Enalaprit Malerate in the same form as Envas. "Even if the Zydus-Cadila product had managed to corner a 10 per cent share of the Envas market, it means a sizeable chunk in terms of money," said a company official.