Calcutta HC closes suit between Dabur India and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee for trademark infringement of Real fruit juice [Read Order]

KOLKATA: A trademark infringement suit between Dabur India and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee came to a close in the Calcutta High Court with both parties agreeing to blur the packaging of Dabur India Ltd's (Dabur) 'Real' fruit juice showcased unauthorizedly in one of Rathee's videos.

The case which came to an end after almost a year concerned a video by Rathee claiming to spread awareness on packaged fruit juices versus fresh fruit juices.

However, it used the logo and trademark of Dabur's "Real" fruit juice without authorization. 

The matter was closed by a single judge bench of Justice Krishna Rao after Rathee proposed to blur the packaging and/or use a generic fruit juice packaging, without prejudice to his argument that the video was protected by the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to make 'fair comment'.

Upon Dabur India accepting the proposal in principle, the parties also agreed on a video forwarded by Rathee containing the generic fruit juice packaging proposed to be used in the video in place of Dabur's 'Real' fruit juice's packaging.

Rathee also proposed to make changes in the video at all places so as to remove any reference or use of the 'Real' trademarks, copyright, content, labels, packaging, advertisements etc. - also a proposal amenable to Dabur.

"The parties have agreed that no useful purpose would be served by keeping the suit and the applications therein pending and the suit itself may be disposed of in terms of the settlement agreed between the plaintiff and the defendant," the Court said.  

Ruling in favour of Dabur in March 2023, a bench of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur had ordered take down or blocking of public access to Rathee's video, noting that he had crossed the "lakshman rekha" by targetting 'Real' and drawing a comparison with fresh fruit juices.

Cause Title: Dabur India Limited vs Dhruv Rathee

[Read Order]