A trader cannot, while saying that his goods are better than his competitors', say that his competitors' goods are bad. If he says so, he really slanders the goods of his competitors and their goods, which is not permissible.

1. By this order, I shall dispose of the application filed by the plaintiff under order 39 Rule 1& 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 seeking ad interim injunction against the telecast of a television commercial of defendant’s Lifebuoy Soap, which as per the plaintiff is disparaging and denigrating the reputation and goodwill of the plaintiff in the commercial market.

2. The plaintiff has filed the present suit for permanent and mandatory injunction, being aggrieved by the defendant’s television commercial which allegedly depicts a child being sick because of the usage of Dettol as an antiseptic liquid in bathing water. The advertisement starts with the doctor entering the house of a sick child where he inquires about the hygiene habits of the child from his parents and also if the child takes bath regularly. To which the parents respond in affirmative and explain that they even dilute “2 dhakkans” of antiseptic liquid in the bucket of water. The next screen shot shows liquid being poured into the bucket of bathing water, the bottle of which is virtually identical in shape to the bottle used by the plaintiff for its “Dettol” antiseptic liquid. The liquid when poured into water becomes milky (cloudy) exactly like the plaintiff’s product, which according to the plaintiff is the exclusive feature of the product. The advertisement thereafter proceeds to show that the plaintiff’s product is completely ineffective in warding off infections and illness, which as per the plaintiff is a malafide on defendant’s part, trouncing the goodwill of the plaintiff in the market. It further proceeds to compare the defendant’s cosmetic toilet soap with the plaintiff’s antiseptic liquid as being “100% Better germ Protector”. It is averred that intention behind the commercial is malicious, especially in view of the trade literature which shows that Dettol captures 85% of the market and is a market leader in the segment of antiseptic liquid being sold in India.

3. With the liberalization and globalization of the Indian economy, firms have been aggressively and vigorously promoting their products and services. In a comparative environment, every representation of a product or service is about what “others are not.” These practices raise questions about candour and fairness of representation of products and services. In our country, the advertising industry in order to reconnoitre and promote a particular product, does not hold back in spending millions of dollars on advertising and marketing. Advertising is a subsection of marketing, a form of communication intended to persuade people to purchase the products or the services of a particular brand. The discerning fact is that in such a competitive market, effective advertising techniques are being incorporated to promote one’s product with addition of high profile names like various actors and renowned personalities, nonetheless it is an indubitable fact that we get swayed by the reflecting names in the advertisements and tend to develop a parlous connect with the actors endorsing the products as they are the idol for their aficionadas. Through the entire process, television makes a major contribution, beginning with awareness, where it makes its greatest impact. When spoken of media boosted awareness, a survey shows that 43% of those questioned said television, as in our society especially the middle class, relates highly to the television promotions. It is one of the influential modes that monitors and captures the major segment of the society. And particularly when the product is being endorsed by a well-known cinestar, the advertisement campaign or visual media creates an immediate impact on the viewers and possibly purchaser's mind. We as mere viewers easily get blind folded and "duped?. Therefore, this medium of promotion should be used very carefully and painstakingly, wherein in the garb of promoting one’s product, it has no right to disparage or denigrate its competitor’s produc