The Bombay High Court has granted permanent protection to Blue Cross Laboratories’ well-known pain-relief brand MEFTAL-SPAS, restraining a Gorakhpur-based pharmaceutical company from marketing its product under the mark MEFIAL-SPAS.
Delivering the ruling in Blue Cross Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. v. Alto Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Justice Arif S. Doctor found that the rival medicine’s name, packaging, colour combination and overall presentation closely mirrored Blue Cross’s established product, creating a serious likelihood of confusion among consumers, pharmacists and medical practitioners.
The Court observed that the differences between the two marks were negligible. According to the judgment, Alto Healthcare had effectively reproduced the plaintiff’s trademark by replacing only a single letter, making the competing product visually and phonetically similar to a degree that could easily mislead purchasers.
Blue Cross approached the Court alleging infringement of its registered trademarks MEFTAL and MEFTAL-SPAS, along with violation of copyright in the artwork used on the medicine strips. The company supported its case with evidence showing extensive and longstanding sales of the product in India and overseas markets.
After examining the competing products, the Court concluded that the similarities extended beyond the names. The packaging adopted by Alto Healthcare featured a comparable blue-and-red colour scheme, similar trade dress and matching design elements, all of which reinforced the possibility of deception in the marketplace.
Holding that Blue Cross had successfully established claims of trademark infringement and passing off, the Court remarked that the imitation was blatant and appeared designed to ride on the reputation of the established brand.
The judgment also took note of Alto Healthcare’s failure to contest the proceedings. The Court viewed the absence of any meaningful defence as a circumstance supporting Blue Cross’s allegation that the adoption of the disputed mark was dishonest and undertaken in bad faith.
As part of the final order, the defendants have been permanently restrained from using the impugned mark and directed to pay litigation costs of ₹10 lakh. Each defendant must deposit ₹5 lakh within eight weeks, failing which the amount will attract interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum.
