The Delhi High Court has granted Dabur India Limited permission to sell its existing inventory of ‘Cool King Thanda Tael’ until September 30, amidst a legal battle with Emami Limited over trade dress infringement. The dispute arises from Emami’s allegations against Dabur, claiming that the packaging of ‘Cool King Thanda Tael’ closely resembles that of Emami’s ‘Navratna Ayurvedic Oil’, leading to accusations of trademark infringement, passing off, and unfair trade practices.
On January 31, the High Court had imposed a restriction on Dabur, preventing them from marketing the product in the disputed packaging due to its striking similarity to Emami’s design. However, Emami agreed to allow Dabur to sell its pre-existing stock. A Division Bench, comprising Justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, on August 10, stipulated that Dabur could proceed with sales only if it manages to recall unsold stocks post the September 30 deadline.
Dabur has committed to halting sales of the product through online platforms and is actively working to remove related listings and images from major e-commerce sites like Amazon and BigBasket. The current stock will be distributed solely through physical retail outlets operated by wholesalers and retailers. The Court underscored that Dabur must ensure the recall of any unsold stock by the specified date, failing which they are required to repackage the goods using a trade dress distinct from Emami’s.
Earlier in the case, on May 22, a division bench upheld a single-judge’s injunction against Dabur, acknowledging the potential for consumer confusion due to the products’ similar appearance, layout, and color scheme. Dabur subsequently sought the single-judge’s permission to sell the stock manufactured prior to the injunction, which was granted on June 19, contingent upon weekly sales disclosures and the recall of unsold products beyond September 30.
Emami challenged this order, contending that the single-judge lacked authority to amend an injunction affirmed by the division bench. The division bench concurred, asserting that the single-judge’s order merged into their judgment once the injunction was upheld, and any modifications should be sought from the division bench or a higher court. However, as Emami provided a no-objection for Dabur’s sale of the existing stock under earlier imposed conditions, the Court effectively deemed the single-judge’s permission to have been granted by the division bench itself.
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Senior Advocate Abhimanyu Bhandari, along with advocates Roohe Hina Dua, Shrutika Garg, Dhwani Arora, and Harshit Khanduja, represented Emami in the proceedings. On the other hand, Dabur was represented by Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, alongside advocates Kripa Pandit, Christopher Thomas, Krisna Gambhir, Shreya Sethi, and Anirudh Bakhru.
