REDDYS LABORATORIES LIMITED Vs. SMART LABORATORIES PVT. LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The trade mark AZIWOK was registered under Sec. 23 of the Trade Marks Act 1999, in favour of Wockhardt Ltd in Class 5, covering "medicinal, pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations and sanitary substances" with effect from 30/12/1994. The registration is valid and subsisting as on date. Wockhardt assigned the registration of the mark AZIWOK in favour of the plaintiff vide Assignment Deed dtd. 9/6/2020, along with goodwill earned by the mark. The plaintiff has applied to the Registry of Trade Marks on 7/9/2020 for substitution of the name of the plaintiff in place of Wockhardt as the proprietor of the trade mark AZIWOK.

(2.) AZIWOK is admittedly a portmanteau of "AZI" and "WOK". "AZI" is an abbreviation for azithromycin, which is the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) of the product. "WOK" is an abbreviation for "Wockhardt". Under the name AZIWOK, Wockhardt and, later, the plaintiff has been selling azithromycin in various strengths. Azithromycin, it may be recollected, is one of the most frequently prescribed antimicrobials, which was used fairly extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(3.) The brand name AZIWOK, asserts the plaint, has been in use by Wockhardt since 1994, when it was registered. Cumulative sales figures of AZIWOK have been provided for the financial years 202021, 2021-22 and 2022-23. Sales of AZIWOK have earned, for the plaintiff, Rs.14,27,15,095.00 in the 2020-2021, Rs.21,62,34,124.00 in 20212022 and Rs.18,05,33,887.00 in 2022-2023.