Delhi High Court ruled that prior use prevails over later trademark registration, affirming protection under Trade Marks Act, 1999, for brand ARUN through evidence of long usage, advertising, sales, litigation history, secondary meaning, and acquired distinctiveness.
The Madras High Court set aside a 2010 Trade Marks Registry order, holding ‘nandini’ for agarbattis deceptively similar to KMF’s ‘NANDINI’ dairy trademark. Justice N Anand Venkatesh ruled the phonetic identity and presentation could mislead consumers.
