HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITED Vs. RECKITT BENCKISER INDIA LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this age of fierce competition wars are fought by the competing industrial giants through means of advertisements. Advertisement has become such an important and potent weapon to promote particular products that companies think of innovative and attractive ways to woo the consumers. For this purpose services of specialised advertising agencies are hired by the companies. While healthy competition through benign advertisements is a welcome step as advertising is also a means to educate the public, what is not permissible is downgrading the product of the rival while promoting one's own product. That is what is treated as unethical and is now termed as illegal also by the courts and the courts frown upon such kind of advertisements. Law on this aspect has been developed through case law and is codified also in the form of legislation in England, USA and other European countries. In India also of late cases are pouring in complaining about such advertisements where product of the aggrieved party is allegedly disparaged. Though there is no legislation on the subject, Prasar Bharti (Broadcasting Corporation of India), which is a statutory body, had issued and adopted a code for commercial advertising. Advertising Standard Council of India has also issued code of ethics for advertising in India. These codes may provide some guidelines. Some judgments have also been given by the courts in India in last few years laying down principles governing comparative advertisements. Few such cases where this aspect of the matter came for consideration are the following:-

(2.) I had occasion to discuss the subject with reference to the aforesaid judgments in the case of Godrej Sara Lee Ltd. v. Reckitt Benckiser (I) Ltd. reported as (2006) III D 398 and, therefore, I am indulging into the detailed discussion. Suffice it to state that in Reckitt and Colman of India Ltd. Vs. M.P.Ramchandran and Anr. (supra), following proposition of law was culled out:-

(3.) Likewise, in Pepsi Co. Inc. and Ors. (supra), a Division Bench of this Court observed that the vast majority of the views of the commercial advertisement on electronic media are influenced by the visual advertisements as these have a far-reaching influence on the psyche of the people and, therefore, discrediting the product of a competitor through a commercial advertisement would amount to disparagement. After taking note of the legal position in UK and USA, the Court noted that in those countries comparative advertisement is permitted if the following conditions are met:-