Tempest in a teapot: the row over Darjeeling

By Manisha Singh Nair, Lex Orbis IP Practice
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Calcutta High Court has dismissed an appeal by the Tea Board, India, against the refusal by a single judge of the court to grant an interlocutory injunction in its suit against ITC Limited. The Tea Board had filed the suit, based on the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection Act, 1999 (GI Act), to restrain ITC from using the name Darjeeling Lounge at its ITC Sonar hotel.

The suit also sought to restrain ITC from in any way conducting the hotel’s business or marketing the hotel using any other name or mark or word which is phonetically or structurally similar or identical or deceptively similar to the registered geographical indication “Darjeeling”, or from passing off or attempting to pass off its business or services so as to discredit the fame of Darjeeling tea, or misleading or confusing people as to the nature of the beverages sold at the ITC Sonar hotel by alluding to a nexus with the Darjeeling geographical indication.

Tea Board marks

The Tea Board is the registered owner of two sets of marks in connection with tea. One is the word Darjeeling and the other is a round device featuring the profile of a woman holding two leaves and a bud with the word Darjeeling spelled out on the edge running from the 9 o’clock to the 12 o’clock position. The word and device marks are independently registered as a geographical indication and as a certification trademark.

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Manisha Singh Nair is a partner at Lex Orbis IP, a New Delhi-based intellectual property practice.

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Email: mail@lexorbis.com

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