Good Day vs Good Time: Delhi HC restraints biscuit-maker from making, selling butter cookies after Britannia’s complaint
The Delhi High Court, ruling in favour of Britannia, said that if an interim injunction is not passed then it will cause irreparable loss and harm to the company. It said that the packaging of Good Time is “deceptively similar” to Good Day, causing confusion to customers.
- Oct 16, 2023,
- Updated Oct 16, 2023 2:42 PM IST
The Delhi High Court has asked cookie-maker, Amar Biscuit, to stop selling or manufacturing Good Time butter cookies, following a complaint by Britannia, that sells and manufactures the popular Good Day cookies. Britannia dragged the cookie-maker to the court due to identical packaging.
The court, ruling in favour of Britannia, said that if an interim injunction is not passed then it will cause irreparable loss and harm to the company. It said that the packaging of Good Time is “deceptively similar” to Good Day, causing confusion to customers. It added that the defendants are piggy-backing on the goodwill and reputation enjoyed by Britannia.
“Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, the Defendants and all other acting for or on their behalf shall stand restrained from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale butter cookie biscuits or any other products in the infringing packaging which is extracted above under the name ‘GOOD TIME/GOOD TIME BUTTER COOKIES’ or any other mark which is identical or deceptively similar to the Plaintiff’s mark ‘GOOD DAY/GOOD DAY BUTTER COOKIES’. The Defendants shall take down any online listings of this product within 48 hours,” the court said.
Britannia had adopted the Good Day trademark in 1986, and itself is a 100-year-old company, the court said. It said that Britannia has been dealing with various food products since 1918, and its revenue for the financial year 2022-23 crossed Rs 16,000 crore. The Good Day mark has been used across a large range of products including biscuit, bread, confectionery etc.
The sales turnover of Good Day products is to the tune of Rs 3,510 crore for FY23, with advertising and promotion at Rs 255 crore, it said. Britannia also has a significant presence on online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube with thousands of followers. It sold Rs 1,889 crore of Good Day Butter Cookies in FY23.
Britannia adopted the distinctive packaging of the product in the color combination of blue and yellow was adopted in 1997. It also showed the cookie in a specific form. “Plaintiff has made minor changes/modifications in the trade dress, however it claims that the essential and prominent features of it were retained,” it said.
Britannia told the court that it learnt of the infringement from social media when a X user posted about it.
The company said that Amar Biscuit adopted an identical colour combination of blue, yellow and white, used the term Good Time in a fashion similar to Good Day, the house mark of ‘Sugar’ has been used in a similar manner and colours as Britannia, similar placement of the cookie, and identical placement of the words ‘Good Time’ as ‘Good Day’.
The company accused the defendants of “fully thought out and deliberate attempt to copy and imitate the plaintiff’s cookies packaging”.
The counsel of the defendants, Amit Tomar, said that they were in consultation with him for the launch of the Good Time Butter Cookies product but was not aware that they have already launched it in the packaging which has been the subject of the complaint.
“The enormous turnover of the Plaintiff for the Britannia ‘GOOD DAY’ cookies leaves no doubt in the mind of the Court that the said packaging and product achieved enormous recognition and goodwill in the market. Any attempt to imitate the name, the mark or the packaging would have to be stopped immediately as the consumers are likely to get confused between the two sets of products. Considering that these are food products any chances of confusion has to be completely avoided,” the court said.
Also read: Delhi High Court announces live streaming of court proceedings from October 11
The Delhi High Court has asked cookie-maker, Amar Biscuit, to stop selling or manufacturing Good Time butter cookies, following a complaint by Britannia, that sells and manufactures the popular Good Day cookies. Britannia dragged the cookie-maker to the court due to identical packaging.
The court, ruling in favour of Britannia, said that if an interim injunction is not passed then it will cause irreparable loss and harm to the company. It said that the packaging of Good Time is “deceptively similar” to Good Day, causing confusion to customers. It added that the defendants are piggy-backing on the goodwill and reputation enjoyed by Britannia.
“Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, the Defendants and all other acting for or on their behalf shall stand restrained from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale butter cookie biscuits or any other products in the infringing packaging which is extracted above under the name ‘GOOD TIME/GOOD TIME BUTTER COOKIES’ or any other mark which is identical or deceptively similar to the Plaintiff’s mark ‘GOOD DAY/GOOD DAY BUTTER COOKIES’. The Defendants shall take down any online listings of this product within 48 hours,” the court said.
Britannia had adopted the Good Day trademark in 1986, and itself is a 100-year-old company, the court said. It said that Britannia has been dealing with various food products since 1918, and its revenue for the financial year 2022-23 crossed Rs 16,000 crore. The Good Day mark has been used across a large range of products including biscuit, bread, confectionery etc.
The sales turnover of Good Day products is to the tune of Rs 3,510 crore for FY23, with advertising and promotion at Rs 255 crore, it said. Britannia also has a significant presence on online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube with thousands of followers. It sold Rs 1,889 crore of Good Day Butter Cookies in FY23.
Britannia adopted the distinctive packaging of the product in the color combination of blue and yellow was adopted in 1997. It also showed the cookie in a specific form. “Plaintiff has made minor changes/modifications in the trade dress, however it claims that the essential and prominent features of it were retained,” it said.
Britannia told the court that it learnt of the infringement from social media when a X user posted about it.
The company said that Amar Biscuit adopted an identical colour combination of blue, yellow and white, used the term Good Time in a fashion similar to Good Day, the house mark of ‘Sugar’ has been used in a similar manner and colours as Britannia, similar placement of the cookie, and identical placement of the words ‘Good Time’ as ‘Good Day’.
The company accused the defendants of “fully thought out and deliberate attempt to copy and imitate the plaintiff’s cookies packaging”.
The counsel of the defendants, Amit Tomar, said that they were in consultation with him for the launch of the Good Time Butter Cookies product but was not aware that they have already launched it in the packaging which has been the subject of the complaint.
“The enormous turnover of the Plaintiff for the Britannia ‘GOOD DAY’ cookies leaves no doubt in the mind of the Court that the said packaging and product achieved enormous recognition and goodwill in the market. Any attempt to imitate the name, the mark or the packaging would have to be stopped immediately as the consumers are likely to get confused between the two sets of products. Considering that these are food products any chances of confusion has to be completely avoided,” the court said.
Also read: Delhi High Court announces live streaming of court proceedings from October 11