AMUL VS IMUL

VS

Dairy major Amul of Gujarat has won a trademark dispute with a milk producers co-operative
union in West Bengal, which sought to market a brand of milk named Imul.

Ichhamati Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited filed an application for registration of
the mark IMUL. After the advertisement of this application, Kaira District Co-Operative Milk
Producers Union Limited (appellant) opposed registration of the trademark. The opposition
was based on the ground that the appellant was carrying on a well established business of
manufacturing, marketing and exporting milk products under the name AMUL since 1955.
By virtue of its long, continuous and extensive use of the trademark, it was contended that
the public now associated AMUL with the appellants products. Therefore, the respondents
adoption of the mark IMUL would cause confusion among the public and in the trade as it
was deceptively similar to the appellants trademark.

The marks are no doubt phonetically similar, except for first letters a and i. When we consider
the marks to be deceptively similar, the possibility of confusion is certain. The trademark,
therefore, shall not proceed to registration. The Kaira District Co-Operative Union said it was
carrying on a well-established business at Anand in Gujarat, manufacturing, marketing and
exporting a wide range of items such as milk, diary products and food products under the
trademark Amul since 1955.

The IPAB used the test of an unwary purchaser with average intelligence and imperfect
recollection to show that phonetically similar marks are likely to cause confusion among
such purchasers. Moreover, case law showed that AMUL had become a household name
and the appellant had been successful, in the past, in restraining others from using its
registered trademark. The adoption and use of Imul as a trademark would cause confusion
and deception among the trade and public. However, the West Bengal milk producers co-
operative union claimed it had adopted Imul as a trademark in 2001.

The Registrar ruled in favour of the Ichhamati union, saying its sales turnover had increased
periodically and refusing registration would cause unnecessary inconvenience and damage
to it.

AKASH KUMAR
FC VII