2017-TIOLCORP-32-HC-DEL-IPR
Procter And Gamble Home Products Pvt Ltd Vs Hindustan Unilever Ltd
Whether the law of disparaging advertisement can extend to preventing the competitor from poaching own consumer or to deprive the own consumer from experiencing the goods of the competitor - NO:HC
Whether advertisements fall in the genre of 'Comparative Advertising' which permits comparing own product with that of competitor's and calling own superior / better than competitor's - YES: HC
Whether the advertisements which inform the citizenry about different brands of shampoo and their different impact on hairfall/hair breakage and on dandruff is in the nature of disparagement - NO: HC
Whether such advertisements promote competition and help consumers in taking meaningful choices - YES: HC
Whether the statutory status given to the Advertising Standards Council of India would bar the jurisdiction of the Civil Court in trying suit of disparagement, when such complaint of disparagement was earlier rejected by the Council - NO: HC
Whether the Advertising Standards Council of India has been established for dispute resolution or for resolution of claims made by parties - NO: HC
Whether it is the law of defamation which is applicable to disparaging advertisement - YES:HC
Whether it is 'common man test' which has to be applied for determining the disparaging nature of any advertisement - YES: HC
Whether very insignificant weightage would be given by the ordinary man to comparative advertising while applying the test of defamation - YES: HC
Whether expert reports can substitute Court's own experience and understanding of human nature in drawing reasonable inferences about the reactions of consumers to the challenged advertisements - NO: HC
- Case dismissed: DELHI HIGH COURT