'Sun Pharma' Gets Status of 'Well-known Trademark' from Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently granted ‘Sun/Sun Pharma/Sun Pharmaceuticals​’ the status of a ‘well-known trademark’. A bench of Justice Amit Bansal opined that Orison Pharmaceuticals was using trade names ‘Orison/Orison Pharma/Orison Pharmaceuticals’, which are similar to Sun’s trade names ‘Sun/Sun Pharma/Sun Pharmaceuticals’. The order has been passed in a plea filed by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd through advocate Sachin Gupta seeking a permanent injunction against Orison Pharmaceuticals from the specialties using the trade names ‘Orison/Orison Pharma/Orison Pharmaceuticals’ and the declaration of the trademark ‘Sun/Sun Pharma’ as a ‘well-known trademark’. The bench passed the direction after noting Sun Pharmaceuticals started marketing pharmaceutical products under the trade name ‘Sun/Sun Pharma/Sun Pharmaceuticals’ in 1978. Additionally, the bench opined that the company has made consistent efforts in protecting its statutory and common law rights in the trade name ‘Sun/Sun Pharma/Sun Pharmaceuticals’ and has secured injunction and rectification orders against various parties using trademarks or trade names that are deceptively similar to its own.