M/S Modern Snacks Private Limited vs. Kamran Ghani & Anr.

Recently, the Delhi High Court dealt with a case of trademark infringement filed by Modern Snacks Pvt. Ltd. (“Petitioner”) against Kamran Ghani (“Respondent”). The Petitioner is the user of the MODERN trademarks (Hindi and English) for food products since 1990, and has multiple registrations/application in Class 30, the earliest dating back to 1990.

The Petitioner filed a suit seeking a permanent injunction against the Respondent for infringing and passing off their mark by using the mark MARDEM NAMKEEN and operating in a similar line of business.

The Petitioner submitted that their use of the MODERN mark has been honest, continuous, and exclusive, supported by sales data, domain name registrations, and e-commerce evidence. The Petitioner also submitted that the word MODERN forms an integral, dominant and distinguishing feature of the mark, and also holds proprietary rights and ownership of the copyrights in the artistic works incorporated in its labels. The Petitioner also claimed that the MODERN mark has become a well-known trademark. Lastly, the Petitioner mentioned that the Respondent was previously a vendor for the Petitioner. 

The court noted the arguments and documents placed by the Petitioner and observed that the Respondent’s MARDEM mark, registered in 2018, was phonetically and deceptively similar to MODERN. The court further observed that the endings of both marks produced a similar sound and rhythm. The court further noted that neither mark is in a vernacular language, and both parties operate in the same area within the Hindi-speaking belt, which increases the likelihood of confusion among general public and consumers of the petitioner. The court observed that a purchaser of average intelligence would definitely be deceived by the overall similarity. The court also noted that the Respondent must be aware of the Petitioner and its mark due to being a prior vendor to the Petitioner.

Considering these facts, the court allowed the rectification petition and ordered the cancellation of Registration No. 3739205, for the mark MARDEM. The court also clarified this judgment is passed only with regard to the facts and circumstances of this case and have no bearing on other pending suits of Petitioner with another party and that the Petitioner cannot claim equity in its favour in other matters.

Click here to read the judgement copy.