New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) The Supreme Court today appointed former SC judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao as mediator to facilitate an amicable settlement in the ongoing trademark dispute between leading Indian whisky brands John Distilleries (Original Choice) and Allied Blenders and Distillers (Officer’s Choice).
A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order while hearing John Distilleries’ plea challenging a Madras High Court judgment that directed the removal of the “Original Choice” mark from the trademarks register after ruling in favour of Allied Blenders.
In its order dated November 7, the Madras High Court held that “Original Choice” was deceptively similar to “Officer’s Choice” and that its registration violated the Trade Marks Act, 1999. It also confirmed that the 1990 registration of “Officer’s Choice” remained valid.
The matter pertains to a dispute where the Allied Blenders sought rectification, claiming that the phonetic and visual similarity is likely to mislead consumers.
John Distilleries filed a counter-rectification alleging defective registration of “Officer’s Choice”.
In 2013, the erstwhile Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) dismissed both petitions, holding that the marks were not deceptively similar.
The Madras High Court later found that the IPAB erred by examining only the word elements rather than the entire trade label, and concluded that “Original Choice” lacked distinctiveness and was likely to deceive the public.
Considering the prolonged litigation and commercial sensitivity of the dispute, the Supreme Court appointed Justice L. Nageswara Rao to mediate between the parties on a priority basis.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Harish Salve, Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Shyam Divan appeared for the parties.
