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15 July 2016Trademarks

Toyota claims victory in Indian trademark dispute

Japanese car maker Toyota has been victorious in its trademark dispute with two India-based companies that were producing car parts branded with Toyota-owned trademarks.

In a judgment handed down by the Delhi High Court, two companies—Prius Auto Industries and Prius Auto Accessories Private—were handed fines and barred from producing the offending parts.

The companies had been targeted by Toyota for allegedly infringing trademarks it owns for the terms ‘Prius’ and ‘Innova’—two Toyota-owned brands.

The dispute started in 2009 when Toyota targeted the two companies for using the terms on manufactured spare parts. They had also used the marks ‘Toyota’ and ‘Qualis’ along with Toyota’s official logo.

In a judgment handed down on July 8, Judge Manmohan Singh ruled in favour of Toyota.

According to the Economic Times, Singh wrote in his judgment: “The defendants’ use of these trademarks is mala fide, as it takes unfair advantage of such huge goodwill and reputation and aims to encash upon this.

“Clearly the impression in the minds of consumers will be a false one as the defendants manufacture and sell spare parts (which are not genuine products of the plaintiff) and claim they are compatible with those of the plaintiff’s cars.”

The two firms were fined ten lakh rupees ($14,490) and were also ordered to stop producing parts under the Toyota name.

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