The trademark tussle of Yogi v/s The Yogi
NEWS
The trademark tussle of Yogi v/s The Yogi
By Pallavi Paul
The Bombay High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favor of the Plaintiff in the case of Yogi Ayurvedic Products Pvt. Ltd. v. The Yogi, restraining the defendants from using an identically similar trademark “THE YOGI”. The Plaintiff, Yogi Ayurvedic Products Pvt. Ltd., has claimed that they have adopted the mark “YOGI” and have already acquired a dozen prior registration(s) on this mark in various classes like 1, 16, 28, 29, 30, 31. The defendants have been using the mark “THE YOGI” both as word and device mark, concerning skin and hair cosmetics under Class 3, on proposed to be used basis and is hesitantly using the symbol TM on their product
NEWS
By Pallavi Paul
however, their applied marks have not yet acquired registration. The court stated that the word “YOGI” is not an invented word, it is an ordinary word in Indian language and having an ordinary meaning, but the use of the word with relation to the products of Plaintiff makes it different. It might be difficult for the Plaintiff to get a restraint against the world for using the word YOGI in relation to laptops and automobiles but within the class and market segment occupied by the Plaintiff, if registration is granted to the mark, it will also be entitled to get statutory protection. The Court ruled in favor of the Plaintiff on the ground that there was sufficient phonetic, structural, and visual similarity between the
PAGE 2/3
NEWS
By Pallavi Paul
Plaintiff and the Defendant’s mark which could further lead to consumer confusion, the three factors of classical trinity was satisfied and two identical domain names should not be permitted protection particularly when the Plaintiff’s domain name includes its registered mark.
PAGE 3/3