Mumbai: In a trademark tussle, the Bombay High Court granted the US-based fast food hamburger chain a whopper of a relief and restrained a Pune restaurant from using the name ‘Burger King’. The interim order was passed pending the final disposal of an appeal filed by the US-based Burger King Corporation.
The US chain moved the HC after a Pune court dismissed its trademark infringement suit against the local eatery run by owners Anahita and Shapoor Irani. The Pune court held that the city-based eatery called ‘Burger King’ was in existence since 1992, prior to the US burger giant entering India. The BK Corporation appealed before the HC in Aug. The HC continued an ad-interim urgent relief that the Pune court initially granted in Jan 2012. BK Corporation had filed a civil suit in Pune in 2011, and in Jan 2012 the district court had granted interim relief in its favour.
After hearing advocates Hiren Kamod for BK, who said his client’s goodwill was getting tarnished, and advocate Abhijit Sarawate for Irani, who argued the outlet was operating before BK opened its franchise in India, a division bench of Justices A S Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil on Monday decided the interim application and restrained the use of the same name. The HC in a detailed order held as “perverse” the trial court finding of Pune eatery being “prior user of trade mark”. The HC said the US chain had registered its mark in India on 25th April 1979 and it’s considered “well known mark” under the law. The HC clarified its findings were not final.
The HC said evidence produced by the fast food chain, in existence since 1954 — or seven decades — needs to be examined. The HC stated it would be the “last fact-finding court” and would review the entire evidence, thus requiring the interim relief to continue. The HC asked both sides to maintain and preserve their business records of the last decade.