Delhi High Court upholds Patanjali's cow urine trademark for floor cleaner

The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected a plea seeking cancellation of Patanjali’s “Patanjali Gonyle Floor Cleaner” trademark used in the packaging of their floor cleaners made from cow urine. 

Justice Tejas Karia rejected the rectification petition filed under Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 by Holy Cow Foundation (petitioner) and held that it has failed to establish prior use or likelihood of consumer confusion.

“The Impugned Mark, when viewed holistically with the prominent ‘PATANJALI’ House Mark, is not identical or deceptively similar to the Petitioner’s Mark so as to cause confusion or deception amongst consumers of average intelligence and imperfect recollection. The Petitioner has not made out a case for rectification of the Register under Section 57 read with Sections 9(2)(a) and 11(1)(a) of the Act. In light of the aforesaid findings, the present Rectification Petition is devoid of merit,” the Court said. 

The Holy Cow Foundation, a non-governmental organisation working for the welfare of indigenous cows, claimed that it was the prior adopter and user of the trademark “Gaunyle” for a cow-urine-based floor cleaner since 2013. It alleged that Patanjali’s mark “Gonyle” was phonetically and visually identical and was adopted with mala fide intent to ride on its goodwill.

However, Patanjali contested the claim, asserting prior use of the mark since 2008. It highlighted that the presence of its well-known house mark “Patanjali” was a key distinguishing feature. 

It also challenged the authenticity of invoices relied upon by the petitioner to establish prior use, pointing out inconsistencies in dates that suggested fabrication.

After considering the case, the Court ruled that the documentary evidence provided by the petitioner was unreliable and suffered from material inconsistencies that cast serious doubt about its authenticity.

Therefore, it rejected the plea. 

Advocates Subhashree Sil, Kuber Mahajan and Abhay Aren appeared for the plaintiff. 

Advocates Junaid Alam, Nishant Mahtta, S Nitin and Nitish Singh appeared for Patanjali Gramodyog Niyas. 

[Read Order]