Allied Blenders & Distillers Pvt. Ltd. v. Shree Nath Heritage Liquor Pvt. Ltd.
Allied Blenders & Distillers Pvt. Ltd. v. Shree Nath Heritage Liquor Pvt. Ltd.
01.07.2014; CS(OS) 2589 of 2013 before Delhi High Court
Plaintiff was using the mark Officer’s Choice since 1988. Defendant was using the mark Collector’s Choice.
In it’s application for registration of the mark, the Defendant stated that if Officer’s Choice and Minister can be Registered, so could be Collector’s Choice.
The Court observed that on first impression, the marks Officer’s Choice and Collector’s Choice appear to be causing no confusion but on the basis of the Articles, Reports and Studies namely, The Associative Machine in a book titled Thinking,Fast and Slow and various other Articles observed that the marks have an association of idea and the possibility of confusion between them cannot be ruled out.
The Court also observed that alcohol advertising is banned and so the products are seen only on display at vend shops which has relevance in judging the memory and recall value of alcohol brands and that the Consumer may not be exposed to both the brands so as to be in a position to distinguish or recall or remember the brand he intends to buy.
The Court also observed that the use by the Defendant is not for a long time and not for a large sales figure. No loss would be caused to the Defendant who is a new entrant in the market and who has hardly used the mark and who has not as yet built any goodwill or reputation.
The Defendant was injuncted from using the mark Collector’s Choice or any other deceptively similar mark.