Delhi High Court: In a recent interim decision, J. Sanjeev Narula stated that Ajinomoto or any movie with a same or confusingly similar name shall not be released in any format, including theatres or over-the-top (OTT) platforms after observing that Ajinomoto Co Inc would suffer irreparable loss if an ex-parte injunction was not issued.
The suing company claimed to be the biggest seasoning producer in Japan, using the trademark “Ajinomoto” for monosodium glutamate (MSG) and marketing it internationally. The word was created by the plaintiff’s predecessor-in-title and is a well-known brand in the Indian market. It is a special combination of words that means “Essence of Taste” in Japanese.
In addition to violation of its trademark because the use was unauthorised, the plaintiff has claimed that the title was defamatory and insulting since Mathiraj, the second defendant, had made false public claims about the mark in relation to the movie. The scenario of the movie was conceptualised and crafted metaphorically around a cooking ingredient that is closely related to the plaintiff, the lawsuit claimed, and any negative portrayal would be bound to seriously harm the plaintiff’s reputation in the market with regard to its products.
The Court, hence, stalled the release of the film under the title “AJINOMOTO” or any film bearing an identical or misleadingly similar title/name in any format, i.e., cinema hall release, DVD/VCD release, release through OTT platforms, etc. until the next date of hearing.
[Ajinomoto Co Inc v. Dattatrey Studios, 2022 SCC OnLine Del 4355, decided on 28-11-2022]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For Petitioner: Sudhir Chandra, Senior Advocate with Pravin Anand, Dhruv Anand, Udita Patro, Sampurna Sanyal and Nimrat Singh, Advocates.
