Delhi High Court grants Mankind Pharma relief in trademark infringement case against Aquakind

The Delhi High Court recently issued an ex-parte interim injunction restraining Aquakind Labs LLP from using "KIND" as part of their trade name "Aquakind," in response to a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Mankind Pharma Limited [Mankind Pharma Limited vs Aquakind Labs LLP and ors.].Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that Mankind (plaintiff) had established a prima facie case warranting injunction against Aquakind.While granting the ex parte injunction, the judge noted that without such an interim order, the plaintiff would suffer irreparable harm.“The plaintiff has demonstrated a prima facie case for grant of injunction and, in case, no ex parte and ad interim injunction is granted, the plaintiff will suffer an irreparable loss. Further, said balance convenience also lies in favour of plaintiff, and against the defendant,” she observed..The case arose from a suit filed by Mankind seeking to protect its trademark from alleged infringement by Aquakind.Mankind alleged that Aquakind’s use of the trade name “Aquakind” was deceptively similar to its registered trademark, “Mankind,” which has been used by it for decades.Mankind argued that this similarity was likely to mislead consumers, given that both marks were used in the pharmaceutical and medicinal products sector..The plaintiff’s counsel submitted that “Mankind” trademark was adopted by Mankind Pharma’s founder Ramesh Juneja in 1986 specifically for its medicinal and pharmaceutical business. Since then, the company has grown substantially and built a diverse product portfolio under the “Mankind” brand.The plaintiff argued that they were the first to use “KIND” as a suffix for medicinal and pharmaceutical goods, demonstrating a long history and wide usage of the mark across various products..In light of these submissions, the Court observed that Mankind Pharma’s reputation in the pharmaceutical sector justified protection of the “KIND” suffix from unauthorized use by other companies including AquakindAccordingly, it proceeded to grant an interim injunction and prohibited Aquakind and its principal officers, servants, distributors, dealers, agents or anyone acting on its behalf from selling or offering for sale products under the "Aquakind" trademark."Till next date of hearing, the defendants, their proprietors, partners or directors, as the case may be, its principal officers, servants, distributors, dealers and agents, and all other acting for or on behalf of defendants, are restrained from selling or offering for sale, advertising, directly or indirectly, dealing in any goods and services under the impugned trade mark/ trade name "AQUAKIND"/" AQUAKIND LABS LPP" and or any trade mark/ trade name as may be identical to or deceptively similar with the plaintiffs registered trade marks," the Court ordered..Alongside the trademark infringement suit, Mankind had also filed an application under Section 135 of the Trademarks Act requesting the appointment of local commissioners to inspect Aquakind Labs’ premises.The Court appointed three commissioners and authorized them to enter and search the defendant’s premises to identify and seize any products bearing the contested “Acquakind” trademark. The Court directed that the local commissioners shall be accompanied by representatives from Mankind.The local commissioners have to file their report within two weeks following the execution of their search and seizure operations.The matter will be heard next on March 10, 2025..Senior Advocate Chander M Lall along with advocates Ankur Sangal, Ankit Arvind, Shashwat Rakshit and Nidhi Pathak represented Mankind..[Read order]