M/s Master Enterprises have the word Molty registered as a trademark under more than 40 classes. This includes the all-famous Molty Foam. While using the phrase faulty foam, says their plaint, M/s Diamond Industries have flagrantly violated the law and breached the norms of fair and ethical business practices. This is precisely what the Special Intellectual Property Tribunal cited while granting ad interim injunction to all the five defendants including Diamond Industries.
The tribunal in the order stated, “Defendant no. 1 is actively and purposefully marketing its products to the detriment of the plaintiff, causing substantial damage to the plaintiff’s hard-earned goodwill and reputation beside causing severe loss of business opportunity.”
The other defendants included some of Diamond’s authorized dealers as well as a couple of newspapers that carried those advertisements—Daily Ummat and the Business Recorder.
The order was renewed on 16 September 2020 by the same tribunal.
On 25 July 2020, the Special Intellectual Property Tribunal issued an interim injunction against M/s Diamond Industries Ltd, stopping the defendant from using the distinguished red color scheme in its advertisement since that particular was identifiable with the legitimate commercial campaign for Molty Foam by the M/s Master Enterprises. This way, a new precedence was also set that even using a color scheme that was misleading for the customers could be considered unethical. It was argued in the case that such a practice would be unfair competition. The court, prima facie, agreed. The ad interim injunction was later renewed on 27 August 2020.
The Sindh High Court, in an order passed on 16 September 2020, ordered M/s Diamond Industries Ltd. and four other defendants including Daily Ummat and Daily Business Recorder to appear before the court on 15 October 2020 and submit answers to the questions relating to the case filed by M/s Master Enterprises about the defendants’ running the commercial campaign for the defendant #1 where the word “Faulty Foam” was being used.
