On Friday, January 5, 2023, the apex court issued a notice on the SLP (Special Leave Petition) which was filed by the Indian subsidiary of an international liquor manufacturer, Pernod Ricard India Pvt. Ltd, which was challenging the refusal of the Madhya Pradesh High Court where it found no visual, structural, or phonetic similarities between two alcohol brands, London Pride and Blenders Pride. The alleged infringement of the trademarks of alcoholic drinks brands, Blender Pride, Imperial Blue, and more. This news turned heads and captivated attention when bottles of whiskey brands were produced before the Supreme Court of India. Kindly stick with this page and go through the article till the end. Scroll down the page and take a look below.
Blenders Pride London Pride Whiskey Bottles Produced In Supreme Court
The manufacturer of Imperial Blue and Blenders Pride, Pernod Record which also sells the whiskey bottles alleged that JK Enterprises has imitated their trademark and is selling its whisky bottles under the trademark “London Pride”. Meanwhile, the legal tussle between the two whiskey brands over the alleged infringement of trademark went through an unusual and never seen before event when bottles of both brands were produced in the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud said “No, we would like to see the product” when senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi annexed the photographs.
For the unversed, both Blenders Pride and Imperial Blue are registered brands with more than Rs 2000 Crores turnover. Pernod Ricard had previously approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court against an order passed by the commercial court of Indore which rejected their application for issuance of temporary injunction. Madya Pradesh High Court dismissed Ricard’s plea ruling the trial court had not committed any error in holding that no similarity was found in the mark of JK Enterprises which can be said to be such an imitation of Pernod Ricard’s trademark. Swipe down the page.
On Friday, January 5, 2023, the matter came to light when the highest court of India asked the petitioner to display the bottle instead of photographs. However, the bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud refused to take the bottle and suggested to indicate from their place. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi presented the whiskey bottles to the bench comprising justices Manoj Misra and J B Pardiwala and said that even the bottle is identical. However, the bench ruled, “Issue notice on the prayer for stay as well as on the Special Leave Petition returnable on January 19, 2023,” Stay tuned.