The Delhi High Court recently restrained skincare product manufacturing company VBRO Skincare from manufacturing or selling its products in packaging or lay out similar to the one used by WOW Skin Science [Body Cupid Pvt Ltd v Ms VBRO Skincare Pvt & Ors].
Justice Prathiba M Singh passed an interim order restraining VBRO from using the marks ‘WQVV’ or any other mark that is identical or deceptively like the trade mark ‘WOW’.
In its order, the Court also referred to the expression “Just looking like a wow!” which has become viral on social media.
“Issue notice. ‘Just looking like a wow!’ – This expression has recently become a sensation in the social media,” the Court said in its order.
The single-judge held that the defendants’ products do look like WOW and therefore, they could be passed off as the plaintiff’s products.
“Defendant Nos. 1 to 4 are accordingly restrained from using the marks ‘WQVV’ or any other mark that is identical or deceptively similar to the Plaintiff’s trade mark ‘WOW’, including the device and logo form of the ‘WOW’ marks, for the manufacture and sale of products… In addition, the Defendants Nos. 1 to 4 are also restrained from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale any personal care, household products, cosmetic and household products in a trade dress, colour combination, get up, lay out, arrangement or in containers that substantially imitate the Plaintiff’s trade dress, containers and products,” the Court ordered.
The Court directed the e-commerce websites Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal to take down the listings of the defendants’ products from their platforms within 72 hours.
Justice Singh, however, clarified that the order is not an embargo on the said defendants using the word ‘WOW’ in a descriptive sense to connote surprise or exclamation.
Body Cupid Private Limited – which owns WOW Skin Science – approached the High Court arguing that the defendant VBRO Skincare Private Limited was selling identical products under the mark ‘VBRO’ and ‘WQVV’ and they have actually copied and imitated the entire trade dress, get up, lay out, colour combination and writing style of the WOW products.
The Court examined the physical products and concluded that the imitation was writ large when it comes to trade dress, get up and colour combination of the two products.
The containers and the products sold by the defendants are almost complete imitations of the plaintiff’s products, the Court underscored.
“In addition, the manner in which ‘WQVV’ is depicted could easily confuse any consumer into believing that the impugned products manufactured by Defendant Nos. 1-4 is a ‘WOW’ product, especially, with the elongated ‘W’ in the third letter. The writing style and various descriptors on the containers are also identical. Even the products manufactured and sold under the mark ‘VBRO’ have an identical trade dress.”
It, therefore, passed an interim order.
Advocates Dhruv Anand and Udita M Patro appeared for the plaintiff .
Advocates Saikrishna Rajagopal and Vivek Ayyagari represented Amazon.
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