Kraft sues Britannia
Kraft sues Britannia

US-based packaged food maker Kraft Foods recently sued Britannia Industries for trademark and copyright violations of its popular Oreo cookies. In a suit filed in the Delhi High Court , Kraft said Britannia’s recently-introduced Treat-O biscuit is a copy of its cream-filled sandwich cookies. The US firm has also sought an injunction to prevent Britannia from manufacturing, selling, marketing or advertising any product with any distinctive element of Oreo cookies.

This is the second instance in four years when Britannia has been involved in a legal tussle with a multinational food company over trademark. It was, however, playing the role of a plaintiff in 2007 when it had dragged French food giant Danone to a Singapore court alleging trademark infringement of its Tiger biscuit. Subsequently, Danone ended its joint venture with Britannia and set up an independent company in India.

In its suit, Kraft has sought damages for infringement of trademark and copyright, passing off and unfair competition of its ‘globally reputed’ Oreo brand of cookies. Kraft said the Indian bakery and dairy products maker has copied the specific design etchings, such as florets and inner rings, of Oreo cookies. The company refers to the design etchings as ‘Oreo cookie trade dress’. “The lining on Britannia’s product, inner rings and florets and their placement on the product are identical to the original Oreo cookies,” Kraft said in the suit.

It also alleged that the brand name, Treat-O, with an emphasis on ‘O’, is inspired by Oreo. Kraft’s lawsuit against Britannia comes at a time it is exploring options to locally manufacture and sell biscuits in the `11,000-crore Indian biscuit market.

 
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