Daijiworld Media Network – Chennai

Chennai, Apr 21: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by Hatsun Agro Product Limited, the maker of the popular dairy brand ‘Arokya’, seeking to restrain Patanjali Biscuits Private Limited from using the brand name ‘Patanjali Aarogya’ for its biscuit products.

A Division Bench comprising Justices P. Velmurugan and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi rejected an original side appeal filed by Hatsun in 2020. The appeal challenged an earlier order of a single judge dated February 7, 2020, which had summarily dismissed the company’s trademark infringement suit against Patanjali.

Hatsun Agro had approached the court alleging that the use of the word ‘Aarogya’ by Patanjali was deceptively similar to its established ‘Arokya’ brand, and could potentially mislead consumers. The company sought an injunction to prevent Patanjali from marketing and selling its biscuits under the ‘Patanjali Aarogya’ label.

However, the Division Bench upheld the earlier ruling, effectively allowing Patanjali to continue using the brand name. The court found no sufficient grounds to interfere with the single judge’s decision, thereby dismissing Hatsun’s appeal.

The dispute dates back to 2020, when Hatsun filed the suit claiming trademark infringement and passing off, arguing that its ‘Arokya’ brand had significant goodwill in the dairy market and that the similarity in names could create confusion among consumers.

With the dismissal of the appeal, the legal challenge mounted by Hatsun Agro against Patanjali’s branding has come to a close, unless further remedies are pursued before a higher court.

The ruling is seen as significant in the context of trademark disputes in India, particularly in cases involving phonetic similarity between brand names across different product categories.