Dil or Rooh? SC upholds restraint of sale of Dil Afza after Rooh Afza trademark violation case

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the manufacturers of Dil Afza sharbat, whose sale was restrained by a Delhi High Court after Hamdard Foundation, makers of the popular Rooh Afza sharbat filed a trademark infringement suit. The latter argued that the Dil Afza product was deceptively similar to Rooh Afza.

The apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala observed that the high court’s decision was right and that they would not want to interfere, as mentioned in a report by Bar and Bench. 

The court said that Rooh Afza has a well-established reputation across India. "Rooh Afza has a well-established reputation across India and suddenly you sell some medicines and in 2020 you start selling some Sharbat...Division Bench has held correctly...We will not interfere. Dismissed," the court said.

Justice Narasimha asked what difference would it make if a customer asks for Rooh Afza and gets Dil Afza instead. To this, Hamdard’s counsel said that the drink is century-old and has acquired a character. The counsel also said that the bottle has circular rings which “gives away dishonest intentions”. Hamdard argued that Dil Afza looks like a variant of Rooh Afza and are riding on the goodwill of the company. “They are selling since 2020 and we are selling since 1907,” said Hamdard, as per the report. 

The Hamdard Foundation said that Sadar Laboratories, makers of Dil Afza, have infringed on its trademark since the words ‘dil’ and ‘rooh’ have similar meanings. The Delhi High Court too said that there is a clear connection between the words ‘dil’ which means heart and ‘rooh’ which means soul. 

The court had said that a person might look at the label of Dil Afza and recall the label of Rooh Afza, also since the word ‘afza’ is common in both. 

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