American luxury cosmetics brand, Estee Lauder, has lost its trademark infringement case against Gufic. The global cosmetic giant’s plea has been rejected by the Supreme Court, allowing the Gujarat-based company to freely sell its skincare product under the Cliniq brand.
A bench headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy dismissed Clinique Laboratories’ plea challenging the Delhi High Court judgement that allowed Gufic to sell its stretch mark minimising lotion under the Cliniq brand. It has upheld the High Court’s order that said Gufic’s use of the word Cliniq in its product- Skincliniq Stretch Nil was not identical or deceptive to Estee Lauder’s Clinique brand.
Clinique Laboratories, a subsidiary of Estee Lauder, in its appeal had said that the use of the word Cliniq by the Indian competitor in similar products would confuse the consumers. It had also claimed that it had registered the trademark in 1978 and has been using it. It contended that the Indian company came into the market with a deceptive name about 20 years later.
While differentiating Gufic’s Skincliniq Stretchnil from Estee Lauder’s Clinique, the High Court also noted that there was a huge price difference between the two products.
Posted on: 24.11.2010
Source: www.financialexpress.com
