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Informist, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court said that the trial will continue in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s petition for restraining Artura Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. from using names for products similar to its registered "pepfiz" and "revital" trademarks and observed that the jurisdictional objection raised by the latter involved disputed questions of fact that cannot be satisfactorily resolved at this stage. The high court dismissed Artura Pharmaceuticals' application and asked the company to raise the issue of territorial jurisdiction during trial, which shall be decided as a preliminary issue. 

 

The case has its genesis in a suit filed by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries to restrain Artura Pharmaceuticals from using the marks "pepfix", "neovital" and other related names, which were deceptively similar to its registered trademarks "pepfiz" and "revital". Pepfiz is an antacid and digestive aid used for symptomatic relief from heartburn, gas, and indigestion. Revital is a well-known daily multivitamin and mineral supplement designed for overall health and vitality. Thereafter, Artura Pharmaceuticals filed an application before the court seeking the rejection of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' suit for lack of territorial jurisdiction of the high court to hear the case.

 

The issue of territorial jurisdiction, being a mixed question of law and fact, involving factual controversies about the nature and extent of online activities may not always be resolved at the threshold stage, said the high court. The court has found that the marks of Artura Pharmaceuticals were "prima facie" deceptively similar to Sun Pharmaceutical's trademarks, said Justice Tejas Karia.

 

The accessibility of the products containing Artura Pharmaceuticals' marks on the website of the company creates the likelihood of confusion and deception among the consumers within the jurisdiction of this court, who can freely access the website and contact the company through "contact us" page for availing the services, said Justice Karia. "The question whether through the 'contact us' page on the impugned website, the defendant (Artura) has actually entered into commercial transactions of sale with Delhi-based consumers and whether the defendant is only having export-only business would require leading of evidence by both the parties and will have to be established at the stage of trial in this suit," said Justice Karia.

 

Artura Pharmaceuticals said that it has its registered office in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and a manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. Further, it was manufacturing the products under the marks only for export purposes and there was no sale in India, said Artura Pharmaceuticals. Hence, this court has no territorial jurisdiction to entertain or decide the present suit as the company does not have place of business or offer for sale any products having the marks within the jurisdiction of this court, said Artura Pharmaceuticals. The company is not hosting an interactive website and the consumers cannot purchase any product from the same, said Artura Pharmaceuticals. The "contact us" section in the website also is not meant for placing orders for any of the products, said Artura Pharmaceuticals.

 

At 1437 IST, the shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. were up 0.2% at INR 1,783.80 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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