{"id":114768,"date":"2024-11-27T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T02:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/?p=114768"},"modified":"2025-07-02T14:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T09:19:11","slug":"eagle-garuda-trademark-dispute-madras-high-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/eagle-garuda-trademark-dispute-madras-high-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Classic Fireworks’ Trademark goes up in smoke, Eagle wins over Garuda"},"content":{"rendered":"

The present Appeal was filed by the M\/s The Southern India Exporting Company (\u201cSIECO\u201d), against M\/s The Classic Fireworks Industries (\u201cClassic Fireworks\u201d), challenging an order passed by the Deputy Registrar of Trademarks, allowing the registration of the “Garuda” mark, arguing that it was deceptively similar to their \u201c Eagle\u201d mark.<\/p>\n

The marks in question:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Comparison<\/p>\n

SIECO claimed prior use of their trademark in the fireworks industry and asserted that the visual similarities between the two marks would cause confusion among consumers. They claimed that Classic Firework\u2019s use of the \u201cGaruda\u201d mark would lead to passing off as the consumers may associate the mark with their \u201cEagle\u201d mark. They further argued that the Registrar failed to apply the test for deceptive similarity under Section 11(b) of the Trade Marks Act, and overlooked the perspective of an average consumer when allowing the \u201cGARUDA\u201d mark to be registered.<\/p>\n

Classic Fireworks argued that both the marks had co-existed in the market for several years without causing any confusion or deception. They claimed that the marks were phonetically and visually distinct, with the “Eagle” mark depicting a bird in flight and the “Garuda” mark showing a bird perched on a tree branch. Further, they also invoked the defence of acquiescence under Section 33 of the Trade Marks Act, claiming that SIECO had not opposed the earlier registrations of the “Garuda” mark.<\/p>\n

The Madras High Court found that the SIECO had successfully established its prior use of the “Eagle” trademark since 1956, which had gained significant goodwill and recognition in the market. The Court emphasized that the likelihood of consumer confusion was high due to the visual and conceptual similarities between the “Eagle” and the “Garuda” mark. Further, since both the marks operated in the same industry, there was a high risk that average consumers, who may not pay close attention to details, could be easily confused. The Court also determined that the Classic Firework\u2019s claims of prior use were weak and rejected their argument of acquiescence, noting that the SIECO had promptly opposed the registration in 2004. The Court thus allowed the appeal, quashed the impugned order, and rejected Classic Firework\u2019s application for registration of the \u201cGaruda\u201d mark. No costs were awarded.<\/p>\n

Citation:<\/strong> M\/s. The Southern India Exporting Company Vs. M\/s. The Classic Fireworks Industries, High Court of Madras, 20th<\/sup>\u00a0 September 2024, [(T) CMA (PT) No.10 of 2023m(OA\/32\/2011\/TM\/CHN)] Available on: https:\/\/indiankanoon.org\/doc\/189736486\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Authored by Bhavishya B, Associate, BananaIP Counsels<\/strong><\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The case note\/s in this blog post have been written by IP Attorneys at BananaIP Counsels based on their review and understanding of the Judgments. It may be noted that other IP attorneys and experts in the field may have different opinions about the cases or arrive at different conclusions therefrom. It is advisable to read the Judgments before making any decisions based on the case notes.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions, or if you wish to speak with an\u00a0IP expert\/attorney<\/a>, please reach us at:\u00a0contact@bananaip.com<\/a>\u00a0or 91-80-26860414\/24\/34.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Madras High Court set aside the registration of the Garuda mark, citing a likelihood of confusion with SIECO\u2019s prior Eagle trademark. The court found that the marks\u2019 similarities could mislead consumers and rejected the defence of acquiescence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":29,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5495,6,11],"tags":[5341,11405,11404,5578,1957,1160,407,41],"class_list":["post-114768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case-reviews","category-intellectual-property","category-trademarks","tag-deceptive-similarity","tag-eagle-mark","tag-garuda-mark","tag-indian-trademark-law","tag-madras-high-court","tag-passing-off","tag-trademark-dispute","tag-trademark-infringement-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114768"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142066,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114768\/revisions\/142066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}