Chennai: In a setback to Geetham chain of restaurants, Madras high court has directed it to refrain from using a trademark similar to that of Sangeetha chain of restaurants and to pay profit earned between Jun 1, 2022, and Nov 2, 2023, by using such a trademark to Sangeetha. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy also imposed 10 lakh cost on Geetham to be paid to Sangeetha for court fees, lawyer’s fee and expenses.
Therefore, the court directed Geetham to pay the profits it earned before the modification of its trademark to Sangeetha.
This should also be viewed in the context of the advertisements placed by Rasnam, clarifying that it has no connection with Sangeetha, the court said. The court passed the order on a suit moved by Sangeetha Caterers and Consultants LLP against Rasnam Foods Pvt Ltd and other owners of Geetham Veg restaurants seeking to permanently restrain Rasnam from using a trademark deceptively similar to its mark. Recording the submissions, the court observed that the modified mark of Geetham is not likely to deceive or confuse a consumer of average intelligence.