"In this pandemic, if we prevent the use of word 'coronil' because there is a pesticide registered in its name, it will be terrible", the Court said.
The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea challenging a Madras High Court Division Bench order that had stayed a Single Judge order which had ruled against Patanjali Ayurved in a trademark dispute over its use of the mark "Coronil".
While dismissing the plea moved by Chennai-based Arudra Engineering Private Limited in the matter, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, who was on the Bench with Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, orally observed,
Patanjali was represented by Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Aryama Sundaram, assisted by Simranjeet Singh from Athena Legal and Advocate on Record Gautam Talkukdar.
On August 14, a Madras High Court Bench of Justices R Subbiah and C Saravanan issued an interim stay on the Single Judge order which had restrained Patanjali Ayurved and the Divya Yog Mandir Trust from using the word "Coronil" in relation to its products.
The order was passed in an appeal moved by Patanjali and the Divya Yog Mandir Trust.
The August 6 order under challenge was passed by Justice CV Karthikeyan, who allowed a trademark infringement suit by Arudra. Arudra had registered the trademark for 'CORONIL-92 B' as an acid inhibitor product for industrial cleaning and chemical preparations for industrial use in June 1993.
While ruling in favour of Arudra in the trademark suit, the Single Judge had also slapped a Rs 10 lakh fine on Patanjali and the Divya Yog Mandir Trust for "exploiting the fear and panic among the general public by projecting a cure for the Coronavirus."
Following an appeal against this order, the High Court's Division Bench allowed interim relief to Patanjali and the Divya Yog Mandir Trust. The High Court suspended the injunction earlier imposed and allowed Patanjali to use "Coronil" for a two-week period.
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