AHMEDABAD: A commercial court here has temporarily stayed a toor dal seller from using its brand name after soft drink company Rasna alleged infringement of its trademark rights.
A pioneer in soft drink concentrate in India, Rasna Pvt Ltd, approached the commercial court against one Punit Proteins Pvt Ltd, a grain and pulses firm that sold toor dal under the brand name of 'Rasna Madhi Toor Dal'. The complaint stated that the product label prominently mentions Rasna, causing consumers to be confused. It added that this gave the impression that the toor dal was being marketed by the soft drink manufacturer, which has had goodwill in the market for over half a century.
Rasna's counsel Y J Trivedi submitted that his client has been in the industry since 1970, and Rasna has been registered as a trademark under various classes. He further said Punit Proteins using the word 'Rasna' prominently on its toor dal product package amounts to infringement of trademark rights and a passing off action, for which the company has also sought damages.
After a preliminary hearing, commercial court judge Priyanka Agarwal observed that the Rasna trademark was also registered for goods falling under Class 31, including grains. The defendant (Punit Proteins) started marketing its product at a later stage. The court order further reads, "This court is of the opinion that such infringer be stopped immediately to prevent great harm to the public who may get confused and deceived by identical/deceptively similar brands/labels as the general public hardly verifies the genuineness of the available products and the possibility of them believing the said products are of the plaintiff company, cannot be ruled out at this stage." With this, it ordered ex parte stay on the use of trademark Rasna on toor dal packages.
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