Delhi HC: Girl Being Friendly on Valentine’s Day Does Not Justify Forced Sexual Activity under POCSO  ||  Delhi HC: Street Vendors Must Maintain Cleanliness and Not Encroach on Public Spaces  ||  Delhi HC: Victim’s Negligence Cannot Bar Compensation in Railway Accident Cases  ||  Jharkhand HC: Pre-1947 Transfers Exempt from Section 46; 45-Year Delay Blocks Restoration  ||  Delhi HC: Mediation Settlement Does Not Remove Criminal Liability But Can be Considered For Bail  ||  Delhi High Court: Newslaundry Acted Maliciously and Showed Intolerance Toward TV Today  ||  SC: New Tree Growth on Land Approved For Development Does Not Qualify it as 'Deemed Forest'  ||  SC: Confiscation Proceedings Can Continue Against Wife of Deceased Public Servant with Illicit Asset  ||  Supreme Court: Strict Procedure Must be Followed under UP Gangsters Act Due to Serious Consequences  ||  Supreme Court: HCs Can Go Beyond FIR to Quash Frivolous or Vexatious Criminal Cases    

Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited v. Cadila Healthcare Ltd. and ors. - (High Court of Madras) (03 Jun 2016)

Medicinal products should be clearly distinguishable

MANU/TN/0970/2016

Intellectual Property Rights

Public interest supports a lesser degree of proof showing confusing similarity in trade mark, even if two medicinal products are not identical or of the same chemical nature.

The petition, brought by Sun Pharmaceuticals, sought injunction against Cadila Healthcare’s use of the mark, ‘Venz’, which it claimed to be phonetically, visually and structurally similar to ‘Veniz’.

Sun Pharmaceuticals registered ‘Veniz’ for use medicines used in the treatment of depressive and psychotic disorders, in 2000. However, registration was limited solely to that word, and Sun was prevented from exclusive use of the word and any suffixes.

Granting injunction against Cadila’s use of ‘Venz' and similar marks, the court noted “drugs are poisons, not sweets”, and confusion between medicinal products would be life threatening. It added, “the frailty of human nature and the pressures placed by society on doctors, there should be as many clear indicators as possible to distinguish two medicinal products.”

Relevant : Beiersdorf A.G. vs. Ajay Sukhwani and Anr. MANU/DE/1631/2008 Cadila Health Care Ltd. vs. Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. MANU/SC/0199/2001 Living Media India Ltd. & Anr. vs. M. Hussain & Ors. MANU/DE/2306/2013

Tags : PHARMACEUTICAL   TRADE MARK   CONFUSING SIMILARITY   DRUG NAMES  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2026 - All Rights Reserved