Calcutta High Court Finds "NIHAL" Visually And Phonetically Similar To "NIHAR"

The Calcutta High Court in the case of Marico Limited (Appellant) v. J.K. & Ors (Respondents) held that Marico's case against J.K for use of the "NIHAL" mark with respect to coconut oil was a clear prima facie one and as such the court granted an injunction restraining J.K. from using the word "NIHAL", or any other mark deceptively similar to Marico's "NIHAR" mark.

The original plaintiffs in this case was Hindusthan Lever Limited. During the pendency of the suit, the rights in respect of the relevant mark "NIHAR" was assigned in favour of the present Plaintiff/Appellant by the original plaintiff. Hindustan Lever had obtained an ex-parte ad-interim order on GA No. 1823 of 2004 which had been reversed in appeal on June 11, 2004 on the ground that the order was not supported by reasons. GA No. 1823 of 2004 was brought for consideration before Calcutta High Court in the present suit.