After more than a decade of litigation, a Pune Court has dismissed a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by the US fast-food giant Burger King Corporation against a Pune-based burger joint for using the name “Burger King”.
The controversy began in 2011 when Burger King Corporation filed a lawsuit against Anahita and Shapoor Irani, the owners of Burger King outlets in Pune’s Camp and Koregaon Park.
Founded in 1954, the US corporation entered the Indian market in 2014. Upon discovering that a restaurant with the same name had been operating in Pune since 2008, the corporation filed a lawsuit, arguing that the Pune establishment’s use of their name was causing irreparable harm to its brand reputation.
The corporation requested a permanent injunction from the court to prevent the Pune-based restaurant from using the “Burger King” name.
They claimed trademark infringement, seeking both damages and a permanent injunction.
Judge Sunil Vedpathak ruled in favor of the Pune restaurant, emphasising that the city’s Burger King had been operating under that name and brand since 1992, well before the US corporation registered its trademark in India. The Court highlighted that although the international conglomerate hadn’t used the name in India for nearly 30 years, the Pune restaurant had consistently served its customers under the ‘Burger King’ brand, establishing its use of the name as legitimate and authentic.
The Court observed that the Pune establishment has consistently operated under the same name for an extended period without interruption. Consequently, the Court recognised them as the genuine and prior user of the name, rather than the US corporation.
The Pune joint also requested ₹20 lakh in compensation for the distress and harassment caused by the legal proceedings initiated by the US Corporation. However, the Court rejected this claim, stating that there was insufficient evidence to justify the request for monetary relief.
