Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was more than stumped when two whiskey bottles were produced in his court during the hearing of a trademark violation dispute between two liquor companies.
The three judge bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra, was hearing an appeal challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court's decision rejecting the appeal of Pernod Ricard, a liquor company. The appeal was aimed at restraining Indore-based JK Enterprises from manufacturing alcoholic beverages under the brand name 'London Pride.'
What's The Case?
Pernod Ricard contended that JK Enterprises has copied its trademark Blenders Pride by adopting and using the London Pride name for its whiskeys. It further claimed that JK Enterprises had copied the colour combination, get-up, and trade dress of its Imperial Blue whiskeys, including its house mark Seagram embossed on the bottle.
As soon as the hearing began, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi requested the bench to permit him to bring two liquor bottles in the court; and, then, he even duly produced them with a sleight of his hand, while he was arguing.
CJI's Funny Banter In Court
Witnessing the unusual spectacle, an amused CJI laughed aloud, and said, "You brought bottles with you?" Rohatgi replied that he had to show the similarity between the two products.
The CJI then remarked, "The issue is about the trade dress here. One of my judgments in Bombay had covered this aspect, which included the size of the bottle." The bench then stayed the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and issued a notice on the petition by Pernod Ricard to bar JK Enterprises from manufacturing and selling whiskey or any alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages with trademark, get-up and trade dress similar to the latter's Blenders Pride and Imperial Blue whiskeys.
The court posted the hearing after two weeks. After the notice was issued, Rohtagi asked the CJI if he could take the bottles with him. The CJI smiled and said, "Yes, please."
(input India Today's news portal).
