Because of copycats in metros like Mumbai and Delhi, Indian dairy giant Amul is fighting legal battles for infringements. The high courts in Mumbai and Delhi have issued interim orders in at least half a dozen cases after India’s largest food marketing organization filed suits of trademark and copyright infringements against such players.
About four brands selling milk and dairy products with artwork, design, motif, colour scheme, and fonts similar to those of Amul have surfaced in the Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Uttar Pradesh markets.
The Amul Girl, the iconic mascot known for its polka-dotted frock and a half-tied-up pony, is printed on the pouches of the copy cats. In most cases, the milk pouches are sold by adding or replacing just one or two alphabets in the brand name Amul. In fact, the proprietor of a Palghar-based firm has submitted an undertaking in the Bombay high court stating that he was selling “Amsul Taaza”—deceptively similar to “Amul Taaza”—a registered trademark owned by the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited (KDCMPUL), popularly known as Amul Dairy.
KDCMPUL is a member union of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the apex organization of all dairy cooperatives in Gujarat. It has permitted GCMMF to exclusively market dairy products with the trademark “Amul.” While submitting an undertaking that he has stopped production and sale of the product under the impugned mark – Amsul Taaza – from September 2021, the proprietor has even paid Rs 75,000 as damages to GCMMF.
The Bombay high court observed that a defendant simply added the letter “S” to the well-known mark Amul to make the impugned mark – Amsul Taaza. By no stretch of imagination, the use of the disputed mark and artistic work can be said to be accidental or co-incidental. “No other inference than that of riding on the goodwill and reputation of the plaintiffs and drawing an unfair advantage can be drawn,” the court of justice N. J. Jamadar observed while granting injunctive relief.