The ?Maaza? registration row between Ramesh Chauhan-owned Bisleri International and soft drinks giant Coca-Cola further intensified when the former on Tuesday threatened to seek the cancellation of registration of the trademark in India if both the companies couldn?t reach an agreement.
?Now if they don?t come to any kind of agreement we will have to take further legal action which would lead to cancellation of ?Maaza? trademark in India,? Bisleri International chairman Ramesh Chauhan said.
Ramesh Chauhan of Bisleri International had put the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola on a 30-day notice to stop production of ?Maaza? for allegedly committing breach of agreement reached upon by the two companies in 1993 and 1994. ?Last week we sent a legal notice to Coca-Cola asking it to stop using brand name ?Maaza? anywhere, including India,? Chauhan said.
Chauhan had also slapped a legal notice on the soft drinks giant claiming damages of $50 million for allegedly infringing upon the agreement relating to the usage of the intellectual property rights of ?Maaza? in the international market. However, the Coca-Cola spokesperson could not be contacted for comments. The rights and agreements entered into between Coca-Cola and the Parle entities in 1993 and 1994 on ?Maaza? were limited to ?India and India alone?.
However, over the past few years, Coca-Cola filed applications for the ?Maaza trademark? in Benelux countries, which were later withdrawn, and more recently in Turkey.
While Coca-Cola has informed Bisleri that it has withdrawn from Turkey too, Ramesh Chauhan appears dissatisfied, and is unsure about similar incidents happening again in the future. Ramesh Chauhan entered into an agreement with Coca-Cola in 1993 and 1994, when he sold soft drink brands Thums Up, Citra, Goldspot, Rim-Zim, Limca and Maaza, to the carbonated beverage major. However, the deal on Maaza was restricted to India alone.