Toyota loses bid for exclusivity on “Prius” mark

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Toyota “Prius”
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Delhi High Court recently rejected Toyota’s request for a permanent injunction against Delhi-based Prius Auto Industries for using the trademark “Prius” in India. The court said that Toyota could not claim monopoly over use of the word “Prius” in India as they had come “too late” to the court.

Toyota’s trademark Prius has been registered in over 40 countries, except India, since 1990. However from March 2002 the Prius trademark in India has been the property of Prius Auto Industries, a partnership firm that uses it to market automobile parts and accessories. Toyota, while accusing the Indian company of passing off, filed an action in Delhi High Court to restrain it from using the trademark.

Relying on previous judgments, and arguments of the parties, the court observed that the foreign magazines in which Toyota’s Prius car was advertised were highly priced and not easily available to an average Indian reader. The court held that the Toyota’s contention that it became aware of Prius Auto Industries presence only in 2009 was contradicted by documentary evidence placed on record and said that if Prius Auto Industries was now prevented from using the Prius trademark it would suffer huge financial and reputational loss.

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The legislative and regulatory update is compiled by Nishith Desai Associates, a Mumbai-based law firm. The authors can be contacted at nishith@nishithdesai.com. Readers should not act on the basis of this information without seeking professional legal advice.

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