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Delhi HC dismisses Rich Graviss's appeal over trademark
"Whip Topping"
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Tuesday, 26 October, 2010, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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In what could be called a landmark judgement, a suit filed by the Rich Graviss Products Pvt. Ltd, Pune, against the use of its registered trademark "Whip Topping" by Indo Nippon Foods Ltd, was dismissed by the Delhi High Court.
Rich Foods Corporation, USA, a $ 2.5 billion, multinational enterprise and its Indian partner Rich Graviss Products Pvt. Ltd, Pune, which produces Rich's Brand Whip Topping, had alleged that Indo Nippon Foods Ltd had infringed the exclusive rights to the use of trade mark "Whip Topping" and further that The Bells packaging was similar in colour and design to that of Rich's Whip Topping.
Indo Nippon is a diversified food company with "Bells Non Dairy Whip Topping" as one of its products. It is produced at the company's ISO 22000:2005 certified facility at Kolar in Karnataka and marketed all over India for filling, topping & decorating cakes, pastries & desserts.
The judgement dismissed the appeal as meritless and said that neither Rich Corporation could claim exclusivity to "Whip Topping" nor had Bells copied its packing design and colours.
Reacting to the judgement, Binu Varghese, director, business development and marketing, AB Mauri, which launched its non-dairy topping at the recent Fi event held in Mumbai, said, "Whip Topping cannot be patented as it is a generic name. Only brands can be patented. Whip Topping is a product descriptor, so logically the stand by the company for exclusivity does not stand true."
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