29 Mar 2023
Deal: Trilegal advised Wipro in the litigation before the Bombay High Court against an advertisement campaign published by USV Limited
15 Jul 2022
15 Jul 2022
Trilegal advised Wipro in a suit before the Bombay High Court seeking an injunction against an advertisement campaign by USV Limited. The advertisement compared Wipro’s product ‘Santoor’ with USV’s product ‘Sebamed’ in a manner that was disparaging of Santoor. On 16 June 2022, a single judge bench of the Bombay High Court granted an interim injunction against the continuation of the advertisement campaign pending the disposal of the suit. This interim order was challenged by USV before a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court. On 13 July 2022, the Division Bench dismissed the appeal filed by USV and upheld the interim order in favour of Wipro.
The matter involved legal complexities on how serious comparison in advertisements based on unfair determinants denigrate the reputation and goodwill of a product that is unfairly compared. While judicial precedents state that comparative advertisements are prima facie permitted, the fine line of commercial free speech under Article 19(1)(a) and disparagement of a product was a matter of dispute. The law on this issue, while dealt with in multiple of decisions of various high courts, is not fully crystalised.
The matter was led by our Partners Nitesh Jain, Tine Abraham, and Siddharth Ranade. Other attorneys who supported the deal were Ritika Ajitsaria, Senior Associate, and Kaazvin Kapadia, Associate.
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For more information, please contact:
Sahil Wason | Mob: +91-8928008122 | BD@trilegal.com
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