Article
Comparative advertising of soaps – No violation of trademark law if backed by science
By Ayushman Kheterpal and Sudarshan Singh Shekhawat
Comparative advertisement may often lead to a legal tussle under the Indian Trademark Law. The article in this issue of IPR Amicus discusses elaborately the recent decision of the Single Judge of the Bombay High Court in Hindustan Unilever Limited and Another v. USV Private Limited which has since been upheld by the Division Bench and maintained by the Supreme Court. The dispute involved three advertisements of the defendant which solely on the basis of pH levels allegedly disparaged the plaintiff’s products by insinuating that the use of plaintiff’s soaps on skin was as bad as using a detergent soap, while stating that pH level of the defendant’s soap was perfect for skin. The Single Judge permitted the defendants to air such advertisements, though without any reference to any washing detergent. While deciding the issue whether the defendant can be permitted to say that the plaintiff’s products were ‘not ideal’ for sensitive skin, the Division Bench held that there was some scientific basis for saying so. According to the authors, the dispute bears a resemblance to the Delhi High Court’s decision in Havells India Ltd. and Ors. v. Amritanshu Khaitan and Ors, and even though the defendant had not compared the constituent ingredients of the soap with that of the plaintiff’s soaps, the same may not be necessarily required...
Ratio Decidendi
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