HC stays hair oil ad featuring Big B

The Delhi High Court today stayed screening or telecast of an advertisement featuring Amitabh Bachchan for Emami Ltd's product Navratna oil on a plea by a city-based herbal products manufacturer, accusing the cosmetic giant of maligning its ayurvedic oil Himgange.

Justice Manmohan Singh stayed the screening, telecast or use of the advertisement on a civil suit by G K Burman Herbal India (Pvt) Ltd seeking permanent injunction for infringement of its trade marks and copy right violation and damages worth Rs 20 lakh.

Justice Singh passed the order ex-parte and asked Emami Ltd not to issue any advertisement or circulate, distribute, telecast or broadcast any material defaming or maligning the Burman Herbal's product.

In its plea, Burman Herbal India (pvt) Ltd said, "The defendant (Emami) has knowingly and fraudulently issued the said advertisement to harm the immense goodwill and reputation which the plaintiff has earned in the last 25 years of the existence of its said product with the sole motive of driving out healthy competition from the market and to make illegal and unlawful gains."

Its counsel Ajay Sahani submitted before the court that the product Himgange Ayurvedic Oil was authored by company's founder Gautam Kumar Burman in 1987.

He also claimed that the product contains distinctive artistic features in the shape of a green background label which has the trade mark "HIMGANGE" in a distinctive artistic vernacular font in yellow colour, below which the expression 'Ayurvedic Teil' is written in white artistic vernacular font.