Single-judge Justice Prathiba M Singh said that the packaging and plastic containers used by the defendants bore clear resemblance to that of the plaintiff’s.
“The Plaintiff has several trademark registrations for the mark ‘CHAAYOS’ as also label/mark applications for distinctive packagings. Clearly, there has been an imitation by the Defendant. The distinctive elements of the trade dress has been copied by the Defendant. The copying of the listings and the expressions used in the same also point to the clear malafide intention of the Defendant who is clearly trying to sail as close to the wind as possible,” the Court said while granting interim relief in favour of Chaayos.
The Court also ordered the removal of Teacurry and Just Vedic product listings from the Amazon e-commerce platform, noting that they closely resembled the packaging of Chaayos’ products.
“If the same are not taken down by the defendant, the plaintiff is free to approach the online platforms with the specific URLs for taking down the said listings,” the Court directed.
With regard to products already manufactured, the Court directed the defendants to provide a record of the inventory’s specifics and its monetary value for the products already produced under Chaayos’ packaging.
“Defendant shall stand restrained from making any fresh manufacture of their tea products in the impugned trade dress packaging which has copied various distinctive elements, and are a colourable imitation of the Plaintiff’s product packaging. Insofar as the already manufactured products are concerned, the details of the inventory shall be placed on record along with the monetary value of the same. Notice be issued in this matter to the Defendant returnable on dates mentioned above,” the Court directed.
Source: Barandbench
