CASE STUDY ON IPR INFRINGEMENT

1. Hindustan Unilever
trademark case for Sunlight
brand to little known
Kerala-based Thai Group
ANKIT GILANI
DEPT. OF PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
NIPER AHMEDABAD

2.  The oldest brand in the portfolio of
Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant
Unilever took a bath when its Indian
affiliate Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) lost
a trademark case for a 127-year-old soap
called Sunlight to a little known southern
soap maker.

3.  The world’s first packaged and branded luxury soap,
was produced by the British company lever brothers
in 1884
 Designed for washing clothes and general household
use, the success of the product led to the name of for
the company’s village for its workers, port sunlight
 Sunlight was launched in India in 1888.
 However, once detergent powders became popular,
HUL began to push brands like Surf, Wheel and Rin.
While Wheel was pitched against Nirma, Sunlight
failed to make a mark nationally

4.  Founded by Kerala-based entrepreneur PC
Thahir in 1984, initially began with cement
marketing.
 It later diversified into consumer products
such as soaps, detergents and shampoos.
 Ashique Chemicals and Aghin Chemicals are
among its group firms selling detergent
powder brands like Starlight and Sunplus.
 The Thai Group earns revenues worth about
10 crore annually across India from Sunplus.

6.  HUL filed a suit against Ashique
Chemicals for infringement of its
registered trademarks Sun and Sunlight.

7.  Over a year ago, HUL had dragged the
Kerala-based Thai Group to court for
"infringing" on the Sunlight brand.
 HUL's contention has been that
Sun, Sunlight and Sunsilk are its
registered trademarks, which Ashique and
Aghin had trespassed on.

8.  However, the Bombay High Court in its
order in August 2011 dismissed HUL's
interim application on the grounds that
the consumer products giant had not used
its registered mark for detergent Sun ever
since it got it registered 60 years ago.
 Sunlight's all-India share is estimated to
be less than 2-3% and the brand doesn't
even have a national presence