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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 29, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court has declared Italian multinational company Ferrero International SpA's 'Nutella' as a well-known trademark under Indian Trade Marks Act, 1999. The plaintiffs have been continuously and uninterruptedly using Nutella since 1946 and have valid and subsisting registration thereof from the year 1975, said the court. 

 

A well-known trademark essentially means a trademark that has become so well-known to a substantial segment of the public that its use on other goods or services would likely be seen as indicating a connection to the original owner. 

 

The petitioner's Nutella trademark has completed 50 years of its presence in the Indian market in the year 2014. Thus, by virtue of its long-standing use, extensive marketing, and unique trade dress, Nutella has become synonymous with a thick creamy hazelnut cocoa spread, said the high court.

 

The Italian company had gross sales figures of INR 2.33 billion, INR 1.45 billion and INR 1.06 billion for the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. "This leaves no shadow of doubt that plaintiffs are well established in the markets all across the globe and are not mere fly-by-night operators. Their registered trademarks Nutella and its variants are recognised all across the globe, including but not limited to India," said Justice Saurabh Banerjee.

 

In addition, the high court permanently restrained M.B. Enterprises, its partners, proprietors from manufacturing, packaging, supplying, distributing, selling and dealing in any manner whatsoever with counterfeit Nutella products or any product similar to the petitioner's trademark. The high court asked M.B. Enterprises to pay INR 3 million in damages to the petitioner. However, considering the factual matrix involved, the defendant is also burdened with costs and special costs of INR 200,000 payable to Delhi High Court Bar Association Lawyers Social Security and Welfare Fund.

 

Since the counterfeit products of the defendant under the very same trademark of the plaintiff's Nutella are available in the open market, without any checks and balances with ease, the same needs to be regulated as it can be harmful for human consumption, said the high court. If not stopped, the same can cause serious public harm, the court said. This can also result in dilution of the long-standing reputation and goodwill of the plaintiff, the court added. "... if the defendant is allowed to continue under such circumstances, it is likely to result in causing utter confusion, lead to deception and cause damage amongst the members of the public at large as also to the long well-established goodwill and reputation of the plaintiffs as well," said Justice Banerjee.

 

The petitioner had said that M.B. Enterprises was engaged in the business of manufacturing, supplying, distributing and selling large quantities of counterfeit Nutella products bearing identical trademarks, labels, and trade dress to the plaintiffs. Moving the court to seek an injunction, the petitioner said that the defendant's action significantly dilutes and tarnishes the Italian company's trademark, but, being an edible item, also poses a major health risk to consumers.  End 

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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