Fine on foreign violator of trademark

A firm which infringes the trademark of another and abstains from court proceedings cannot be permitted to enjoy the benefits of evasion. It must pay compensation, even if it is operating from a foreign country, the Delhi High Court stated last week while passing a decree in favour of the trademark owner. It awarded ~1 million with 10 per cent interest in the case, Ferrero Spa vs Ruchi International. Ferrero Spa is claimed to be among the top four manufacturers of confectioneries in the world. Its products with the trademark Ferrero Rocher is available in India. It complained that two firms in India are selling chocolates imitating its trade dress, packaging, colour combination and get-up. One of them settled the dispute, but another continued to import look-alike chocolates manufactured in China and sold in the ‘golden series’ of chocolates. That firm did not appear before the Indian court in the trademark suit. However, the High Court ordered it to pay the amount with interest to Ferrero. Explaining the jurisdiction of the High Court, the judgment stated that in a case of infringement of trademarks it has jurisdiction over a non-resident, provided the owner of the trademark carries on trade is within the court jurisdiction. “The personal amenability of the defendant is irrelevant in a suit for infringement in view of the special enactment of Section 134,” the judgment clarified.