The Supreme Court on Monday has given the go-ahead to a cosmetic firm to proceed against Australian-based Unilever Australasia plea in a trademark violation case filed in a Bangalore court.
A bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam dismissed Unilever?s petition seeking stay on the proceedings in a trademark violation case filed against it by
Mumbai-based Shingar Cosmetics Pvt Ltd in October last year. The local firm has alleged infringement of its trademark ?Instinct? by Unilever.
The foreign firm had sought stay on the ground that it cannot be sued in India for trademark infringement as it does not manufacture, sell or transact its business here. Unilever, which manufactures various products including the ?AXE? range of products including deodorants and after shave lotions, said it sells its products to various companies including Hindustan Lever in Australia itself and its products are only imported in India.
According to the petition, the AXE range of deodorants are sold in as many as 18 variants with various descriptors in India including the word ?INXTINCT?.
The English word instinct is the most common descriptor in cosmetics industry across the world and the same was incapable of registration under the Trade Marks Act 1999 as it lacks distinctiveness, Parekh stated.
Besides, he said the place of suing should have been either its principal place of business or that of Shingar.
While the civil court had vacated its exparte order that restrained Unilever from manufacturing, selling or advertising its products under ?INXTINCT? mark in October last year, the Karnataka High Court had dismissed its civil revision petition in March this year.
