HUL vs Abbott: Bombay High Court Weighs In On Unfair Advertising Row

Abbott Laboratories, The Largest Consumer Company in the Nation, Received
Temporary Reprieve on Thursday when the Bombay High Court Ordered the
Corporation to Cease Distributing Commercials that Prportedly Denigrate Hindustan Unilever's Horlicks Diabetes Plus until Further Order. The Petition Filed by HUL, Which Claims that Certain Ads for Abbot's Ensure Diabetes Care in India that are distributed via WhatsApp to Physicians and Pharmacists Portray Horlicks Diabetes Plus Negatively, Presents a Strong 'Prima Facie Case' for the Granting of Ad-Interim Relief, The Court noted.

In his 19-page Interim Order, Justice Riyaz Iqbal Chagla noted that"The Plaintiff has the Advantage of Convenience." He further stated"The Plaintiff will Suffer Irreversible Harm/Injury Which Cannot be Compensated in Terms of Money Unless Reliefs As Prayed For Are Granted."

The case's hearing has been scheduled for October 7 by the court. HUL contended before the Court, Represented by Attorney Hiren Kamod, Alongside Nidhish Mehrotra and Rahul Dhote of ANM Global, that the Company's Product, despite being partially blurred, is Still Easily Recognizable as the one that the main character in Abbott's Advertisement pushes aside in favour of the latter's offering. They maintained that the Commercial's Representation of Horlicks Diabetes Plus is Intentional and not Coincidental. Defendants Abbott Laboratories and its Indian subsidiary Abbott Healthcare Pvt Ltd said that they could have easily used an Unbranded Product with plain or Irrelevant packaging, but instead, they purposefully used the plaintiff's product, presumably in an effort to sway the viewer's perceptions. Although the court granted HUL interim respite, it noted that it is established law that a shopkeeper has the right to claim that his products are superior to those of his rivals or that his goods are the best in the world.

"However, while doing so, he cannot directly or indirectly say that the goods of his Competitors are bad or inferior and if he does so, then he really slanders the goods of his competitors and defames his competitors and their goods which is not permissible," it said.

Author:
Aarya Kadam (News Writer) is a final-year BBA student and a creative writer with a passion for Current Affairs and legal Judgments.