Following a case filed by ITC accusing Britannia of copying the packaging design of its Sunfeast Farmlight Digestive All Good biscuits, the Delhi High Court has directed Britannia to refrain from selling the Zero variant of its digestive biscuits with the present packaging.
The court said the yellow and blue colour scheme and other features in the packaging of Britannia's NutriChoice Digestive Zero biscuits looks "deceptively similar" to that of ITCs. The order said that "such deception is likely to confuse the consumers of such biscuits, even the discerning health conscious ones, into thinking that Britannia's biscuits are that of ITC's."
The court has allowed Britannia one month to liquidate the stock with the impugned packing. It said Britannia is free to adopt "any packaging which is distinctively different from the packaging that is currently used by ITC for its Sunfeast Farmlite Digestive All Good biscuits." It has directed the company to redesign the packaging wrapper, omitting the blue colour, while yellow colour may be retained.
The court felt that Britannia "is likely to suffer a far less damage if the injunction were to be granted when compared to the damage that ITC is likely to suffer if it is not granted."
V.L. Rajesh, divisional chief executive of ITC Foods Division, Bengaluru welcomed the interim injunction in favour of ITC. "We hope Britannia will comply with the court order," he said in an interview with THE WEEK. "Sunfeast Farmlight Digestive All Good biscuits is one of our most innovative products. It contains no maida, sugar or artificial sweeteners. Launched in February this year, it got an overwhelming response from the market. We’ll now continue our journey with renewed vigour," he added.
Meanwhile, Britannia said they are exploring all the legal options in the matter. A statement issued by the company said that the zero variant of its NutriChoice Digestive biscuits will continue to be available in the market.
