The Bombay High Court has granted an interim injunction restraining unknown ‘John Doe’ persons from infringing upon the registered trademarks and copyrights of ‘NATURAL’ ice cream and from defrauding the public through counterfeit franchise schemes. [Siddhant Ice Creams LLP & Anr v. John Doe(s) & Ors]
Justice Madhav J Jamdar held that the owner of the Juhu-based ice cream company had made out a very strong prima facie case for interim relief after perusing the brand's long-standing goodwill and market presence dating back to 1984.
“The Plaint show that the Plaintiffs (Naturals) are in the ice cream business since 1984. The details of the sales figures and expenses for the promotional activities of the Plaintiffs show that Defendant No.1 for the malafide purpose is using the said trade name NATURAL Ice Cream to take advantage of huge market of the Plaintiff,” the judge said.
The suit was instituted by Siddhant Ice Creams LLP, the registered proprietor of the ‘NATURAL’ family marks along with its master franchisee.
They contended that certain rogue entities were exploiting the anonymity of the internet to run fake websites mimicking the brand. These counterfeiters issued forged letters and deceptive emails to unsuspecting individuals, demanding payments in exchange for sham franchise licenses.
The infringing sites even falsely claimed an individual named RK Gupta was the founder, whereas the business was established in 1984 by the late Raghunandan Kamath in Juhu, Mumbai.
The Court restrained several defendants and their associated entities from using the trademark ‘NATURAL’ similar logos, or deceptive variations on websites, domain names, emails, and social media platforms.
Justice Jamdar further restrained them from infringing the plaintiffs' copyrights and committing passing off by offering fraudulent franchise opportunities.
Advocates Hrishikesh Shukla, Rohit Iyengar and Mahir Amir, instructed by Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, represented Natural.
Advocate SP Rajurkar appeared for GoDaddy.
[Read order]