Brief

Type: Suit for permanent injunction restraining infringement of Copyright, and Trade Mark against passing off.

Dispute in brief:

In a recent development, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favor of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Sun Pharma”) restraining Goddres Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. (“Defendant No.1”) from using the deceptively similar trade mark ‘ZACIRAFT’ for medicinal preparations. The decision was based on the complaint filed by Sun Pharma, asserting that the defendants had adopted a phonetically, visually, and structurally similar mark to Sun Pharma’s well-known and registered trade mark ‘RACIRAFT’, which was registered on January 17, 2022.

Sun Pharma argued that the defendants, aware of the plaintiff’s trade mark, adopted ‘ZACIRAFT’ and ‘ZACIRAFT PLUS’ in bad faith to ride on the goodwill of ‘RACIRAFT’. Both marks are used for identical pharmaceutical products containing Sodium Alginate, Calcium Carbonate, and Sodium Bicarbonate, aimed at treating the same ailment: acidity and heartburn.

The Court acknowledged that the two marks were confusingly similar, relying on established jurisprudence in Cadila Health Care v. Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Heinz Italia v. Dabur India Ltd., which emphasize caution in pharmaceutical disputes due to public health implications. The Court held that allowing the defendant to continue using the impugned mark would likely cause irreparable harm to Sun Pharma’s brand reputation and public trust.

Furthermore, Sun Pharma highlighted the risk of consumer confusion and potential health hazards, as it had no control over the production quality of the defendants’ products.

The Court has scheduled the next hearing on January 20, 2025, while continuing the injunction against the defendants, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of products under the ‘ZACIRAFT’ mark.