Court Affirms Radico Khaitan's Prior Rights to "MASTIH" Trademark, Orders Rectification of Trademark Register
In a decisive ruling, the Delhi High Court has ordered the cancellation of the trademark registration for "GRAND MASTI" held by Mohit Petrochemical Pvt. Ltd., affirming the prior rights of Radico Khaitan Ltd. over the "MASTIH" trademark. The court found the respondent's trademark to be deceptively similar to the petitioner's established trademark, "HINDI MATTER/MASTIH", and ruled that the registration was liable for rectification under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
The judgment, delivered by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, emphasized that the phonetic similarity between "GRAND MASTI" and "HINDI MATTER/MASTIH" was likely to cause confusion among consumers, particularly given the identical nature of the goods involved—country liquor. The court dismissed the respondent's defense that the addition of the laudatory prefix "GRAND" was sufficient to distinguish their mark from Radico Khaitan's.
Radico Khaitan, a prominent name in the liquor industry since 1943, had established substantial goodwill and reputation for its "MASTIH" brand, with continuous use evidenced by significant sales figures. The petitioner argued that Mohit Petrochemical's adoption of "GRAND MASTI" aimed to exploit this goodwill and was made in bad faith, a position the court upheld.
The court also addressed the issue of a "without prejudice" No Objection Certificate (NOC) previously issued by Radico Khaitan, clarifying that it did not constitute a waiver of rights or estoppel against opposing the impugned trademark.
In its ruling, the court ordered the cancellation of the impugned trademark registration no. 4832282 from the Trademark Register and instructed the registry to notify the relevant authorities for compliance.
Bottom Line:
Trademark Law - Prior adopter's rights over a trademark constitute grounds to cancel subsequent deceptively similar registrations, even without standalone registration of the dominant element.
Statutory provision(s): Trade Marks Act, 1999 Sections 11(1), 11(3)(a), 11(10)(ii), 57
Radico Khaitan Ltd. v. Mohit Petrochemical Pvt. Ltd., (Delhi) : Law Finder Doc id # 2863604
