Bombay High Court grants relief to Burger King in trademark suit against Indian joint

The Bombay High Court on Monday stayed a Pune Court order dismissing a trademark infringement suit filed by US fast-food giant Burger King against a local burger joint using the same name..A Bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil admitted the appeal filed by Burger King and restrained the local joint from infringing the US giant's trademark pending the hearing and final disposal of the appeal. "The Division Bench will be the last fact-finding court and the entire evidence will be looked into. Therefore, interim relief granted by the court requires to be continued," the Court observed.The Court also directed both Burger King and the Pune burger joint to preserve its business records for the past ten years.It had earlier granted an interim stay on the trial court order..The dispute centers around Burger King Corporation, which entered the Indian market in 2014, and a Pune-based restaurant that has been using the "Burger King" name since 2008. Burger King argued that the local establishment’s use of the name was damaging its brand reputation and sought a permanent injunction to prevent the restaurant from continuing to use the trademark.In July, the Pune court ruled in favor of the local restaurant, stating that it had been using the name long before Burger King Corporation entered India. The trial court noted that the Pune restaurant had been operating since the early 1990s, while the US corporation only registered its trademark for restaurant services in India in 2006. The court concluded that the Pune restaurant was a prior and honest user of the Burger King name, while dismissing the US company's suit..Burger King (US company) challenged the ruling before the Bombay High Court, arguing that its trademark had been registered in India since 1979, despite its late entry into India. The local restaurant’s legal team countered that the business had been using the name since 1992 before the US fast food giant started its operations in India.After hearing both parties, the High Court had reserved its orders on the stay application on October 1, which was allowed today..Advocates Avesh Kayser and Hiren Kamod appeared for the US-based corporation.Advocates Abhijit Sarwate appeared for the Pune burger joint