{"id":19663,"date":"2020-11-17T16:00:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T10:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/?p=19663"},"modified":"2020-11-17T18:40:53","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T13:10:53","slug":"hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Hindustan Uniliver Limited and Emami Limited \u2013 Trademark Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><strong>H<em>industan Unilever Limited<\/em><\/strong> on June 25<sup>th<\/sup> 2020 announced a rebranding exercise that constituted dropping the word <strong><em>&#8220;Fair&#8221;<\/em><\/strong> from their popular <strong><em>&#8220;Fair &amp; Lovely&#8221;<\/em><\/strong> product, and renaming it to <strong><em>&#8220;Glow &amp; Lovely&#8221;<\/em><\/strong>. Hindustan Unilever Limited also announced that their products for men&#8217;s range will be known as <strong><em>&#8216;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8217;<\/em><\/strong>. What followed was a possible threat action from <strong><em>Emami Limited<\/em><\/strong> stating that they were the previous user of the name &#8220;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8221;, which led Hindustan Unilever Limited in filing a suit under <strong><em>Section 142 of the Trademarks Act<\/em><\/strong> in the Bombay HC for Trademark Dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/#Decision_by_Single_Judge_Bench\" >Decision by Single Judge Bench<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/#What_are_the_Facts_of_the_Incident\" >What are the Facts&nbsp;of&nbsp;the\nIncident?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/#What_are_the_Legal_Provisions_Involved\" >What are the Legal Provisions\nInvolved?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/#Critical_Analysis\" >Critical Analysis<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/#Hindustan_Unilever_Limiteds_Announcements_Permissions\" >Hindustan Unilever Limited&#8217;s Announcements\n&amp; Permissions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/#Emamis_Claims_Contentions\" >Emami&#8217;s Claims &amp; Contentions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/hindustan-uniliver-limited-and-emami-limited-trademark-dispute\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Decision_by_Single_Judge_Bench\"><\/span>Decision by Single Judge Bench<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bombay HC dismissed\nthe appeal filed by Emami Limited challenging the <strong><em>ex-parte order<\/em><\/strong> that was conceded\nby a Single Judge Bench on&nbsp;July 6<sup>th<\/sup>, 2020. The order had\nprovided <strong><em>interim relief<\/em><\/strong> to Hindustan Unilever Limited in the continuing\ntrademark dispute between the two companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both Emami and Hindustan\nUnilever Limited claim to have a trademark over the mark <em>\u201cGlow and Handsome\u201d.<\/em> The Trademark dispute started when Hindustan\nUnilever Limited recognized their cosmetic products \u201cFair and Lovely\u201d and \u201cFair\nand Handsome\u201d as \u201cGlow and Lovely\u201d and \u201cGlow and Handsome\u201d correspondingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fair &amp; Lovely to Glow &amp;\nLovely <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Hindustan Unilever in recent times announced that it is going to drop all words extended prejudice such as \u201clight\u201d, \u201cfair\u201d, and \u201cwhite\u201d from its promotion as well as a branding campaign. However the effectiveness of change in the name of <strong><em>cosmetic<\/em><\/strong><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cosmetics\"><strong><em>[1]<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/sup> products remains disputed. Unilever reportedly earns approx INR 3250 crores annually from the sale of Fair &amp; Lovely solely in India. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As brands progressively\nrealize their social importance, Unilever initiated a massive campaign against\ndiscrimination originated from skin colors and decided to rename its product\nline Fair &amp; Lovely to Glow &amp; Lovely.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_Facts_of_the_Incident\"><\/span>What are the Facts&nbsp;of&nbsp;the\nIncident?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The trademark dispute\nbegan when Hindustan Unilever Limited made a formal announcement that the\ntrademark brand \u201cFair and Handsome\u201d for men is renamed as \u201cGlow and Handsome\u201d. Hindustan\nUnilever Limited started marketable advertising of the product under the said\nname from 4th&nbsp;July in various newspapers as well as digital platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In response to the\nadvertisements, Emami Limited gave statement in the newspapers supposedly\nthreatening to take legal actions against Hindustan Unilever Limited for\nviolating its trademark rights. Hindustan Unilever Limited then filed a case\nagainst Emami Limited under Section 142 of the Trademark Act, 1999 against the\nstatement published by the other company. The legal counsel on behalf of Hindustan\nUnilever Limited filed application for the trademark \u201cGlow and Handsome\u201d and\n\u201cGlow and Lovely\u201d on&nbsp;September 7<sup>th<\/sup>, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the\nadvisors, the trademark application filed after duly searching the Trademark Register\nand in the month of June in the year 2020, HUL again filed for the trademark\nregistration on its products. The committee submitted the proof for FDA License\nattained to manufacture the products under the mark \u2018Glow &amp; Handsome\u2019 in\nthe Court on 3rd&nbsp;July. The License was issued to advertise the products and\nto make an official announcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Observation by the Court<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Court observed\nthat since the plaintiff (Hindustan Unilever Limited) has duly filed for the\ntrademark application in the month of September, 2018 and then July, 2020 but\nthe plaintiff adapted the mark before filing of the application for Trademark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Question arises\nthat whether the statements made by Emami Limited had some grounds to be\ndecided after hearing both the parties. Emami Limited had filed for an Appeal\nagainst the order of the Bombay HC that granted interim relief to HUL. The\nAppeal was then heard by a division bench of the Bombay HC comprising <strong><em>Justice\nVG Bisht<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>RD Dhanuka<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bench then dismissed the appeal after inspection of the impugned order stating that since the Single Bench intended to list the interim application for further relief seeked on 27th&nbsp;July thus&nbsp;it is not inclined to interfere&nbsp;with the previous order passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/benefits-of-trademark-registration-in-india\/\">A Deep Analysis on Benefits of Trademark Registration<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_Legal_Provisions_Involved\"><\/span>What are the Legal Provisions\nInvolved?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Section 142 of the\nTrademarks Act, 1999 averts a person from issuing any groundless threats to a\nregistered trademark user and if someone does so then the registered trademark\nuser can acquire an order for injunction against the continuation of such\nthreats and can also recover any damages that might be caused due to such\nthreats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hindustan Unilever Limited can get relief if it proves that the threats issued by Emami Limited did not have any worth and are groundless. The Court in its interim order observed that Emami Limited should provide a prior notice of 7 days to Hindustan Unilever Limited before initiating any legal action against.  From the discussion above, it is clear that to bring a successful claim Hindustan Unilever Limited needs to prove two points-  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-42.png\" alt=\"Legal Provisions Involved\" class=\"wp-image-19664\" width=\"556\" height=\"254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-42.png 1000w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-42-300x137.png 300w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-42-768x352.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 556px) 100vw, 556px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While Emami should\nprove that it sincerely and formerly adapted the trademark \u201cGlow &amp;\nHandsome\u201d and Hindustan Unilever Limited\u2019s use of it comprises infringement of\nTrademark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Critical_Analysis\"><\/span>Critical Analysis<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hindustan Unilever Limited applied for several trademark application with \u201cGlow and Handsome\u201d while only few of them got approved, \u201cGlow and Lovely\u201d and \u201cGlow and Handsome\u201d were not granted <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/trademark-registration\"><strong>trademark registration<\/strong><\/a>. It was declared by the Trademark Registry that they were deficient in planning the designated purpose and were non-distinctive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The matter is\npending before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). On the other\nhand, filing of new applications by Hindustan Unilever Limited before the\nlaunch of rebranding campaign gives it a better claim over the claims by Emami\nLimited since it did not file for registration of trademark even after 7 days\nof introducing it in the digital market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Registration is\none of the primary claim in ownership of any trademark however the Indian\nTrademark Act, 1999 gives precedence to <strong><em>\u2018adoption and use\u2019 over \u2018registration\u2019<\/em><\/strong>\nwhile determining the owner of any trademark. &nbsp;<strong><em>Section 34<\/em><\/strong> of the Trademark Act\nprovides that any registered owner of a trademark can\u2019t obstruct with the\nrights of a prior user of an identical or similar mark. For this reason, it will\nbe appealing to see in whose favor the Court decides the Trademark dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hindustan_Unilever_Limiteds_Announcements_Permissions\"><\/span>Hindustan Unilever Limited&#8217;s Announcements\n&amp; Permissions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hindustan Unilever\nLimited said that its plan to change its mark from &#8220;Fair &amp; Lovely&#8221;\nto &#8220;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8221; was done keeping it up with recent trends\nand to move away the focus on the word &#8220;fair&#8221; as part of a beauty\nproduct. Consequently in September 2018 Hindustan Unilever Limited applied for\nregistration of the new trademark &#8220;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8221; in place of\n\u201cFair &amp; Handsome\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hindustan Unilever\nLimited proceeded to attain permission from the Food and Drugs Administration for\nchanging its trademark &#8220;Fair &amp; Lovely&#8221; to the new mark &#8220;Glow\n&amp; Lovely&#8221; for which the permission was granted on 2<sup>nd<\/sup> August\n2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By a press release\non 3<sup>rd<\/sup> July 2020, Hindustan Unilever Limited announced its planned\nuse of &#8220;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8221; for products formerly marketed as\n&#8220;Fair &amp; Lovely&#8221;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Emamis_Claims_Contentions\"><\/span>Emami&#8217;s Claims &amp; Contentions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Emami Limited\ncontented that it has been marketing its men\u2019s skin care product under the trademark\n&#8220;Fair &amp; Handsome&#8221;. According to Emami, Hindustan Unilever Limited\nis not permitted to use the trademark &#8220;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8221; for a\nsimilar product that would infringe Emami Limited\u2019s registered trademark\n&#8220;Fair &amp; Handsome. The above mentioned contention will amount to\npassing off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Claims by the Emami Limited<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The Claims by the Emami Limited are-<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-43.png\" alt=\"Claims by the Emami Limited\" class=\"wp-image-19665\" width=\"570\" height=\"291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-43.png 1000w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-43-300x153.png 300w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-43-768x392.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Emami limited\u2019s\nlegal advisors argued that even after assuming that Hindustan Unilever Limited\nadopted the mark &#8220;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8221; first and also used it first\nin relation to its products, there is no case of adequate reputation and public\nassociation of the goods sold by the Hindustan Unilever Limited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emami Limited\u2019s\nlegal advisors submitted that while Hindustan Unilever Limited could undoubtedly\nsaid to have amply advertised its new brand &#8220;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8221; that\nreplaces its previous well-known mark &#8220;Fair &amp; Lovely&#8221; and at this\nstage, it was reasonable that there was a solid probability of uncertainty and confusion\nin the public if identical marks are permitted to hold the place for popular merchandises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Trademark Dispute\narising in Intellectual property rights are rising day by day. It is important\nto avert businesses from adapting unfair trade practices in order to maintain a\nplaying field for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A well consideration approach towards trademark applications filing before launching a commodity can save businesses or corporations from getting into any legal troubles like the one in the case of Hindustan Uniliver Limited and Emami Limited. The final result of the case is yet to be decided and the issue shall be resolved by the Bombay High Court in the next hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/trademark-infringement-meaning-types-and-remedies\/\">Trademark Infringement: Meaning, Types and Remedies<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hindustan Unilever Limited on June 25th 2020 announced a rebranding exercise that constituted dropping the word &#8220;Fair&#8221; from their popular &#8220;Fair &amp; Lovely&#8221; product, and renaming it to &#8220;Glow &amp; Lovely&#8221;. Hindustan Unilever Limited also announced that their products for men&#8217;s range will be known as &#8216;Glow &amp; Handsome&#8217;. What followed was a possible threat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":19674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[1220],"acf":{"service_id":"18"},"authorName":"Sakshi Srivastava","authorImageUrl":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG-20180130-WA0007.jpg","authorDescription":"Sakshi has pursued B.B.A.LL.B.(IPR Hons.). She is an avid reader and is keen to gather and share her knowledge on the subjects relating to IPR, Company Law and GST. Priorly she has worked as a legal researcher and vide her articles she aims at improving the core knowledge of the subjects to the masses.","postViews":3902,"readingTime":5,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19663"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19663"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19676,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19663\/revisions\/19676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}