The Delhi High Court has granted relief to American footwear company Crocs by ordering the deletion of the trademark ‘Croose’ from the Indian register, after finding it deceptively similar to the established Crocs mark. The Court has observed that the mark ‘Croose’ is likely to cause confusion among consumers and is visually and phonetically similar to ‘Crocs.’
As per media reports, Crocs had approached the High Court seeking cancellation of the ‘Croose’ trademark, which had been registered with the Registrar of Trademarks in India. The Court has compared the products sold under the two marks and concluded that the Impugned Mark ‘Croose’ violates Section 11(1)(b) of the Trademarks Act, which prohibits registration of marks that are deceptively similar to existing trademarks.
The Court has directed the Trademark Registry to remove ‘Croose’ from the register and update its website within four weeks. “The present Petition is allowed and Respondent No. 1, the Trade Marks Registry is directed to remove the Impugned Mark ‘Croose’ bearing Registration No. 3409214 in Class 25 registered in the name of Respondent No.2 from the Register of Trade Marks,” the Court stated.
In its petition, Crocs had highlighted that it registered its mark in India between 2005 and 2006 and that it enjoys international goodwill and reputation. The company argued that the mark ‘Croose’ exploits its distinctive style and placement. Croose, while opposing the petition orally, did not file any written submissions.
Advocates Ajay Amitabh Suman, Shravan Kumar Bansal, Rishi Bansal, Deepak Srivastava, Shruti Manchanda, and D. Mehra appeared for Crocs, while Advocates Ashish K. Dixit, Shivam Tiwari, and Umar Hashmi represented the Registrar of Trademarks. Advocates Harshit Jain and Rahul Kumar appeared for Croose.
