Delhi High Court stays release of film titled 'Ajinomoto' after MSG manufacturer files trademark infringement suit

The Delhi High Court recently temporarily restrained the release of a Tamil film under the title 'Ajinomoto' after Japanese Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) manufacturer, Ajinomoto filed a trademark infringement suit. [Ajinomoto Co Inc v. Dattatrey Studios & Anr].Justice Sanjeev Narula held that the plaintiff had made out a prima facie case in its favour and would suffer irreparable loss if an ex-parte injunction was not granted."Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case in their favour; balance of convenience also lies in favour of the Plaintiff and against the Defendants; in case an ex-parte injunction is not granted, Plaintiff shall suffer irreparable loss," the Court said..The suit by Ajinomoto Inc sought a permanent injunction restraining infringement of its registered trademark 'AJI-NO-MOTO', passing off and unfair competition.Counsel for the plaintiff contended that the use of the title by the filmmakers not only infringes the plaintiff's trademark rights, but is also disparaging and defaming as the film's director, Mathiraj Iyamperumal, made false public statements in relation to the plaintiff’s mark in the context of the film.In that light, he drew the Court's attention to an article in the magazine Outlook, in which the director's statements were published. The publication read,“Talking about the film, director Iyamperumal says, “‘Ajinomoto’ is a flavour enhancer. But it is in fact a kind of poison that kills humans slowly. The story of ‘Ajinomoto’ has been conceived and crafted based on this concept of the cooking ingredient. He further spoke about the duality of the film’s characters, “Certain situations in this firm will make some of the characters appear in it look good at one point. But just like how the ingredient can cause great danger subsequently, these characters can indulge in actions that can cause difficult consequences.”.It was argued that although the film has not been released and its contents are not known to the public, it is blatantly clear that the storyline, as per the director's statements, is conceived and fashioned metaphorically around the cooking ingredient, which directly links to the plaintiff.Hence, considering the wide outreach of films, and the manner in which the story line in conceived, any negative portrayal is bound to severely prejudice the plaintiff’s reputation in the market in respect of its products, it was stated..It was further pointed out that the film had not yet been certified by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and that the title of a film is always subject to change, in light of the decision of Supreme Court in Shri Babuji Rawji Shah v. S Hussain Zaidi & Ors..The Court, after holding that a prima facie case was made out by the plaintiff, restrained the defendants from releasing the film under the name 'Ajinomoto' or any other deceptively similar name until the next date of hearing on December 12..Senior Advocate Sudhir Chandra, along with Advocates Pravin Anand, Dhruv Anand, Udita Patro, Swati Jain, Sampurna Sanyal and Nimrat Singh of Anand and Anand appeared for the plaintiff..[Read Order]