Point of Law : The use of the mark “CINZITAS” would also create confusion, as there was a possibility of people mistaking the defendants’ product to be that of the plaintiff.

ORDER :

I.A. 7214/2021 (by the plaintiff under Order XXXIX Rules 1 & 2 read with Section 151 CPC for an ad-interim order of injunction)

1. This order will dispose of the application filed by the plaintiff seeking interim prayers of the following nature: -

“a. Restraining the Defendants, its directors, principal officers, partners, servants, representatives and agents or any of them, from manufacturing, marketing or selling pharmaceutical and medicinal preparations under the mark CINZINE, CINZITAS or any deceptively similar variant of the Plaintiff’s registered trademark CINZAN or in any manner whatsoever amounting to an infringement of the Plaintiff’s registered trademark CINZAN;

b. Restraining the Defendant, its directors, principal officers, partners, servants, representatives and agents or any of them, from manufacturing, marketing or selling pharmaceutical and medicinal preparations under the mark CINZINE, CINZITAS or any deceptively similar variant of the Plaintiff’s registered trademark CINZAN or in any manner whatsoever, thereby passing off their pharmaceutical products as those of the Plaintiff;

c. That the above order may be granted ex-parte;

d. Any further order as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper facts and circumstances of the present case may also be passed in favour of the Plaintiff.”

2. The plaintiff/FDC Limited is a company incorporated on 23rd September, 1940 under the name of the ‘Fairdeal Corporation (Pvt.) Ltd., with its registered office at B-8, MIDC Waluj, District Aurangabad 431136, Maharashtra with a Delhi Branch Office at A-41, Phase-I, Okhla Industrial Area, New Delhi-110020. Subsequently, on 24th June, 1985, the plaintiff’s name was changed to ‘FDC Private Limited’ and a fresh Certificate of Incorporation was issued on 2nd May, 1986. It is stated that the plaintiff had commenced operations much before its incorporation, in the year 1936, marketing vitamins and a range of prescription formulations. It set up its first manufacturing facility in the year 1949. In 1963, the plaintiff claims to have become the first organization to start the manufacture of specialized ophthalmic formulations in India and the first to introduce the BFS (Blow-Fill-Seal) technology for ophthalmics in South East Asia. In 1972, the plaintiff pioneered the concept of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) under its iconic brand ‘Electral’. It has a distinct presence in numerous therapeutic segments such as anti-infective, dermatological, respiratory, hematinic and claims to be the undisputed leader in ORS and ophthalmic. It has 6 manufacturing facilities in India with several distribution centers across the country and it is also available on leading e-commerce pharmacy stores, such as, PharmEasy, 1MG, Apollo Pharmacy, Netmeds etc.. It has four separate R&D Laboratories for formulations and food products, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), biotech and genetic research. It has also received the “National Award for R&D effort in the industry” by the Department of Scientific Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India for its contribution in the development of Flurbiprofen and Timolol Maleate. The plaintiff claims to have an annual turnover of Rs.1,331 crores (approx.) in the year 2019-2020.

3. The present suit has been filed against the defendant No.1 alleging infringement by it of trademark “CINZAN”, registered in the name of the plaintiff in respect of its product launched in 1989. The product sold under the trademark and brand name of “CINZAN” is used to treat motion sickness, nausea due to motion sickness, vertigo or Meniere’s disease. The plaintiff claims that “CINZAN” has met with a remarkable success and currently holds a prominent market share. The plaintiff had obtained trademark registration for the word mark “CINZAN” w.e.f. 6th October, 1987, which is valid and subsisting. The plaintiff claims to have also spent more than Rs.15 lakhs on promotional activities to popularize the products under the trademark “CINZAN”