Bombay High Court Finds 'LEFOXIN BIOX' Similar To Glaxo's 'LANOXIN', Directs Removal By December 31

The Bombay High Court, on 28 October, directed the Registrar of Trade Marks to remove Shreya Life Sciences' 'LEFOXIN BIOX' mark from the register with effect from 31 December 2026, allowing the company time to rebrand its product.

Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan held that a trademark may be removed for likelihood of confusion despite differences in the products' ingredients and medical uses. He also held that manufacturing goods in India exclusively for export constitutes trademark use in India under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

The Bench observed that “the addition of BIOX appears to indicate that the Impugned Mark is a variant of the Glaxo Mark.”

Glaxo Group approached the Court under Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, seeking cancellation of Shreya's registration for 'LEFOXIN BIOX'. Glaxo's 'LANOXIN' mark has been registered since 1956 and is used for digoxin tablets prescribed for cardiac conditions, including cardiac failure and abnormal heart rhythms.

Shreya registered 'LEFOXIN BIOX' in December 2021 for levofloxacin tablets, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections.

It argued that the two products contained different active pharmaceutical ingredients, treated different conditions and were available only on prescription. It also submitted that it manufactured the antibiotic in India exclusively for export markets and made no domestic sales.

Rejecting these arguments, the Court held that the marks had to be assessed as a whole from the perspective of a person of average intelligence and imperfect recollection. It found that 'LEFOXIN' was the dominant element of Shreya's mark, while 'BIOX' was descriptive and offered little distinction from Glaxo's mark.

It also rejected Shreya's argument that 'OXIN' was common to the pharmaceutical trade. Of the 16 levofloxacin brands placed on record, the Court noted that only one, 'ULOXIN', used the suffix.

Further, the Bench held that the differences between the medicines did not eliminate the likelihood of confusion. Both registrations covered medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations broadly and were not restricted to the specific formulations currently sold under the respective marks. The differences in ingredients, medical indications and prescribers therefore did not resolve the likelihood of confusion at the time of registration.

It also rejected Shreya's export-only argument, and relied on Section 56(1) of the Trade Marks Act, which treats the application of a trademark in India to goods intended for export as use of that mark in India. It allowed Shreya time to inform its stakeholders of the change, adopt a new mark from 1 January 2027 and pursue any necessary regulatory approvals.

Accordingly, the High Court ordered the removal of 'LEFOXIN BIOX' from the register with effect from 31 December 2026.