Delhi HC rejects earlier judgment favoring Emami in Dabur-Emami battle

The Delhi High Court division bench led by Justice Yashwant Varma has set aside its single judge's order that had asked Dabur Ltd to cease selling its Cool King Thanda Tel hair oil in a case related to the alleged trademark infringement of Emami India's popular Navratna hair oil product.

Earlier in the month, a single-judge bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar had passed an order restraining Dabur from selling its ‘Dabur Cool King Thands Tel’ in a packaging that bears a striking resemblance to Emami's Navratna oil.
This decision was announced by Justice C Hari Shankar, who carefully noted that Dabur's actions appear to deliberately mimic the essential characteristics of Emami's product.

The Court had earlier observed that after initial examination, it was evident that Dabur had consciously imitated nearly every fundamental and distinctive aspect of Emami's product, seemingly with the intent to capitalise on the positive reputation and recognition that Emami's product has garnered over the years.

Bringing out the similarities, the Court pointed out that both the bottles are remarkably alike in shape, with any slight deviations being inconspicuous to an average consumer. Additionally, both the bottles have red colour oil, which is surely borrowed from Emami's product.
Keeping all these factors in mind, the Court has ordered Dabur to cease from selling its product in packaging that is akin to Emami's.

This injunction extends to any other packaging that replicates the identified key elements, considering it would breach the terms of this ruling.
This legal dispute arose from a suit filed by Emami, saying that they have been marketing Navratna oil since 1989, while Dabur introduced Cool King in May 2023. Emami further claimed that Dabur's actions constituted trademark, design, and copyright infringement.