Cargills obtains Enjoining Order against ‘Harshini Food Super City’

Thursday, 14 March 2019 00:32 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

‘Cargills Food City’, Cargills (Ceylon) PLC in line with a strong stance taken in protecting their Intellectual Property Rights pertaining to the nationwide supermarket chain, successfully obtained an Enjoining Order against ‘Harshini Food Super City’ in the Commercial High Court of Colombo recently.

The Plaintiff through its Plaint complained to Court that the Defendant, a convenience store in Hali-Ela operating under the name ‘Harshini Food Super City’, was unlawfully continuing to use the term ‘Food City’ along with a slogan misleadingly similar to the Plaintiff’s slogan ‘Gedara Yana Gaman’, both being constituent parts of the Plaintiff’s Trademark ‘Cargills Food City’, in addition to using the red, white and yellow get-up of the Plaintiff’s Trademark ‘Food City’, on their external hoardings and billboards, despite the Defendant having given a written undertaking pledging to change their mark, name and external hoardings and billboards.The Plaintiff through its Plaintiff set out that the red and white design of the Plaintiff’s Trademark ‘Food City’ along with its famous slogan ‘Gedara Yana Gaman’ in a yellow angular font, as per the Plaintiff is exclusively and distinctively associated with none other than ‘Cargills Food City’.

The Plaintiff, Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, further pleaded to Court, that it is one of the largest, most successful and acclaimed conglomerates in the country, dating back to 1844 and having multiple business operations spanning diversified areas from consumer goods and food brands to banking, restaurants and logistics. Moreover, that in 1983, the Plaintiff launched ‘Cargills Food City’, the first supermarket chain in Sri Lanka and over the decades to follow, ‘Cargills Food City’ expanded to well over 350 stores in all districts of the country, becoming a household name in Sri Lanka with a reputation for high quality consumer products available at affordable prices.

The Learned High Court Judge Rathnapriya Gurusinghe, being satisfied with the case of the Plaintiff granted an Enjoining Order in favour of the Plaintiff, restraining the Defendant from carrying on its unlawful activity in the aforementioned manner.

The Defendant appeared on 14 February, the summons returnable date and court fixed the 7 March, for the Defendant to file its objections. At present, the matter has been re-fixed for the Defendant to file objections and answer, for 25 June. The Enjoining Orders were extended until such date.

The Plaintiff was represented in Court by Dr. Harsha Cabral, President’s Counsel, who appeared with Nishan Premathiratne, Migara Cabral and Chamaka Ambagahawita Attorneys-at-Law, on the instructions of Messrs. Julius & Creasy.