Aastha Thakur
Published on: 28 July 2022 at 21:30 IST
The Madras High Court recently gave decision in favour of Dindigul Thalappakatti in the trademark lawsuit filed against a local restaurant in Trivandrum for using trademarke names ‘THALAPPAKATTI BIRIYANI HOTEL’ and ‘THALAPAKATTI’.
The injuction suit was filed as the restaurant in Trivandrum was doing business under the same name as of petitioner’s.
Prima facie, the Court observed all the legal documents related to the Thalappakatti Biryani Hotel all the way back to 1957. The petitoner also served the origin of the name ‘Thalappakatti’ as founder, Nagasamy Naidu in Dindigul would always wear a turban called THALAPA [a traditional head dress], which garnerd him a nickname – ‘Thalappakatti Naidu’, eventually becoming the name of their brand.
The petitioner further also submitted that the name not only stands important for their business purpose but it also is a symbol of the tradition, authentic and unchanging delicacies handed down over the years.
Even though the word ‘Thalappakatti’, is not quite distinctive in South India, it has become synonymous with authentic taste and traditional goodness. Hence, the name Thalappakatti was copyrighted to protect patronage.
The Court granted an interim injunction while stating that the defendant can market its product but only by using a different name as they cannot infringe the rights of the Plaintiff over its registered trademark. The Court further asserted that as the marks have been in use by the applicant since the year 1957, hence defendant cannot be allowed to infringe plaintiff trademark rights.