Delhi HC Restrains Cipla's Prolyte from Using 'Gluco-C' and 'Gluco-D' in Trademark Battle

4 Jul 2023 , 12:40 PM

The Delhi High Court has issued an interim order restraining Cipla’s Prolyte brand from using the words ‘Gluco-C’ or ‘Gluco-D’ for their glucose powder brands.

The order came in response to a trademark infringement suit filed by Zydus Wellness against Cipla, alleging that their mark was deceptively similar to Zydus’ ‘Glucon-C’ and ‘Glucon-D’ brands.

Zydus had requested the court to prohibit Cipla from using the contested words until the case is resolved. Zydus argued that ‘Gluco-D’ visually and phonetically resembled ‘Glucon-D,’ with only an ‘N’ being omitted, and even the hyphen was replicated.

Cipla claimed that Zydus’ registrations for Glucon-C and Glucon-D were descriptive and not eligible for trademark protection. The court found that ‘Gluco-D’ was deceptively similar to ‘Glucon-D’ and constituted trademark infringement.

The court rejected Cipla’s argument regarding Zydus’ disclaimer on the registration.

The court noted that Cipla’s use of ‘Prolyte’ as a prefix did not sufficiently distinguish their products from ‘Glucon-D.’

The court also dismissed Cipla’s contention that ‘Glucon-D’ was a descriptive term. The interim order prohibits Cipla from using the contested terms until the final resolution of the case, protecting Zydus Wellness’ registered trademarks.

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