Delhi HC Permanently Restrains Raipur Company From Selling Counterfeit 'Daawat' Products, Awards ₹25 Lakhs Damages To Basmati Rice Brand

Permanently restraining a Raipur-based seller from manufacturing and selling counterfeit 'DAAWAT' branded products, the Delhi High Court has awarded Rs. 25 lakhs as damages and costs in favour of the famous basmati rice brand manufacturer LT Foods Limited in a trademark infringement suit.

Justice Pratibha M Singh observed that Saraswati Trading Company, based in Chattisgarh's Raipur city, is using a "counterfeit packaging" identical to Daawat brand wherein it is selling Jawaphool Rice and portraying it as Basmati Rice.

"These are goods for human consumption. Considering the Plaintiff's reputation and the fact that 'DAAWAT' is a well-known mark in India, the suit is liable to be decreed," the court said.

Justice Singh added that there can be "no justification" for manufacturing and selling rice in counterfeit 'DAAWAT' branded packaging, adding that customers were being misled by the Raipur-based company in a deliberate and dishonest manner.

The court thus decreed the suit filed by LT Foods Limited seeking permanent injunction against Saraswati Trading Company for infringement of its registered marks 'DAWAT' and 'DAAWAT'.

LT Foods Limited in the suit claimed that its annual turnover was over Rs. 2,000 crores in the financial year 2020-2021 and that the company is amongst top 50 food processing companies in North India as per the "Dun and Bradstreet survey."

It was the plaintiff's case that while the trademark 'DAWAT' was adopted in 1985 by one M/s Lal Chand Tirath Ram Rice Mills, it was assigned to LT Foods Limited in the year 2003. It was also submitted that the mark 'DAWAT' was registered in several foreign countries as well.

LT Foods Limited alleged that while the product being sold and manufactured by the defendant company was claimed to be Basmati Rice, the same was Jawaphool Rice which did not match the standards of Basmati Rice, which is a high quality rice.

The plaintiff also alleged that the product was being rebranded as Basmati Rice and sold in 'DAAWAT CHEF'S SECRETS BASMATI RICE' branded packaging which was identical to its product.

Perusing the report filed by the Local Commissioner appointed by court in September last year, Justice Singh said that the defendant's product packaging was nothing but a counterfeiting packaging of DAAWAT's products.

"In the opinion of this Court, the Defendant is clearly indulging in blatant violation of the Plaintiff's statutory and common law rights in the marks 'DAWAT' / 'DAAWAT'. Moreover, considering that the product is rice for human consumption, the misrepresentation by the Defendant that the same is Basmati Rice is also impermissible," the court said.

Observing that the "illegal acts" of the defendant were not innocent and were "clearly deliberate with a dishonest intention", the court decreed the suit in favour of plaintiff company.

Title: LT FOODS LIMITED v. SARASWATI TRADING COMPANY

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 1080

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