Supreme Court Directs Status Quo In Zenlab-Latros Pharmaceuticals Trademark Dispute Over “ZENOVIT”
Kirit Singhania
12 March 2026 9:50 PM IST
The Supreme Court recently directed the parties to maintain the status quo in a trademark dispute between Zenlab India and Latros Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., while asking the trial court to expeditiously decide the pending suits.
A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe passed the order while allowing an appeal filed by Zenlab challenging a judgment of the Bombay High Court dated February 16, 2022, which had granted an injunction in favour of Latros.
“In view of above, we are of the opinion that interest of justice would be subserved if we confirm the stay order passed by this Court and direct that the parties shall maintain status quo as of today and further direct the trial Court to take up and dispose of both the suits expeditiously,” the bench observed.
On April 4, 2022, while issuing notice in the appeal, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of the Bombay High Court's injunction order.
The dispute relates to the trademark “ZENOVIT” used in relation to pharmaceutical preparations such as vitamins, minerals and antioxidant formulations. Latros Pharmaceuticals claimed rights over the mark on the basis of its trademark registration, which traces back to an application filed on March 10, 1989. The registration was granted on April 15, 1994 and continues to remain valid and subsisting.
Latros alleged that Zenlab had started manufacturing and selling similar pharmaceutical products using the identical mark “ZENOVIT,” which was deceptively similar to its registered trademark and likely to cause confusion among consumers.
After issuing cease-and-desist notices in November 2011 and January 2012, Latros filed a trademark infringement suit before the District Court at Pune in December 2014 seeking an injunction and other relief.
Zenlab argued that it had been using the mark since 2008 and was therefore the prior user in the market. The Bombay High Court had granted an injunction in favour of Latros, restraining Zenlab from using the mark.
Considering that Zenlab had been using the trademark from 2008 until the High Court granted the injunction, the Supreme Court held that the interest of justice would be served by maintaining status quo until the dispute is finally decided.
The court allowed the appeal and directed the parties to maintain the status quo pending disposal of the suits.
For Petitioner: Senior Advocate Anand Sanjay M Nuli with Advocates Nikhilesh Kumar, Mahesh Kumar, Pratyaksh Kumar, Sriniwasan M Bogisam, Sanjay Sharma, Saravjeet Singh, Lalit Belwal, Ashish Belwal, Yashica Rawal, Devika Khanna, Vmz Chambers, AOR, Sandeep Singh, AOR
For Respondent: Advocates Lalit Chauhan, Laxmi Chauhan, Manish Yadav, Anith Jonshan, Hiren Kamod, Mrinal Gopal Elker, AOR Shreeyash Uday Lalit, Himanshu Vats, Angad Pahal, Lavam Tyagi, Ishita Khurana, Aviral Kumar Mishra, Ishaan George, Santosh Kumar Prasad