“No Perceptible Difference”: Delhi High Court Restrains Bombay Shaving Co. From Running Revised Ad In Gillette Suit
The Delhi High Court has restrained Bombay Shaving Company from running its "revised" advertisement, holding that on a first look, there is "no perceptible difference in the impact" between this version and the original ad the company had already agreed to take down.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani passed the order while issuing notice on a contempt application filed by Gillette India, which accused the company of going back on its undertaking to the court.
Senior Advocate Chander M. Lall, appearing for Gillette, argued that despite promising to take down the original advertisement, Bombay Shaving Company had simply put out a "revised" version carrying essentially the same offending content Gillette had complained about, and sought contempt action for breach of the earlier undertaking.
Counsel for Bombay Shaving Company, however, argued that the revised ad was genuinely reworked, dropped the objectionable parts of the original, and did not disparage Gillette.
The court did not find that argument persuasive at this stage, recording its prima facie view that the revised ad carried the same impact as the one already found objectionable.
Bombay Shaving Company was directed not to run the revised advertisement until the next hearing, with replies to both the contempt application and Gillette's pending interim injunction application to be filed within a week.
Background:
Gillette had sued Bombay Shaving Company alleging its advertisements mock and belittle Gillette's razors without naming the brand directly.
In an earlier hearing, the court found one such ad, styled around a fake court hearing complete with a judge character, to be an "outright mockery" of the case itself, and directed it be taken down.
Bombay Shaving Company agreed and put out this "revised" ad, which Gillette now says is just the same message in a different wrapper.
The matter is listed before the court on October 5, and on October 7 before the Joint Registrar.
For Gillette: Senior Advocate Chander M. Lall with Advocates Ankur Sangal, Pragya Mishra, Saumya Bajpai, Yashodhara Raina, A. Mehar and Swastik Sant
For BSC: Advocates Tanya Varma, Prithvi Singh, Vardaan Anand and Ruchika Yadav