Court issues enjoining order for violating trademark rights of Chaiwala Colombo

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda  
Orriss Ceylon (Pvt.) Ltd, carrying out its food and beverage business under the name ‘Chaiwala Colombo’ at the outlets located on Marine Drive and in Colombo, Dehiwala, Havelock Town and the Food Court of the One Galle Face Mall, had instituted action in the Colombo Commercial High Court against a company carrying on an identical business, under a misleadingly similar name, for violation of its intellectual property (IP) rights.

Colombo Commercial High Court Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi issued this enjoining order, which prevented the company named Colombo Chaiwala (Pvt.) Ltd from using, selling, exploiting, packaging, marketing and distributing its products under the name ‘Colombo Chaiwala’, due to its misleading similarity to that of Chaiwala Colombo, the trade name used by Orriss Ceylon (Pvt.) Ltd from its inception, as a pioneer in the Chai industry in Sri Lanka and due to the confusion caused to the public with respect to the two entities engaged in the  identical business. 

The action was filed against the said company for its violation of protections afforded under Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003, with respect to trademarks and trade names and on the basis of the law of unfair competition, as the use, sale, exploitation, packaging, manufacture and distribution of its products under a misleadingly similar name, is contrary to honest business practices.

Counsel Murshid Maharoof, with Shoaib Ahamed and Jemiah Sourjah, instructed by Razeek Mohammed Irsath, appeared for the plaintiff, Orriss Ceylon (Pvt.) Ltd.