4th March 2010

The Delhi high court has dismissed the suit filed by US firm, Rich Products Corporation, seeking a permanent injunction against Indo Nippon Food Ltd for using the word ‘Whip Topping’ as trademark for its products. The US firm, which uses the mark, Rich’s Whip Topping, claims that it invented the vegetable based whipped cream from soya bean in the 1940s’ and is selling it in many part of the world, including India. It argued that Indo Nippon adopted the word Whip Topping for its food products, which is not only infringement of its patent but also ‘passing off’, by confusing the mind of the consumers. The high court rejected these contentions and stated that while it could not be denied that the US firm had a proprietary right in the trade mark Rich’s Whip Topping, its right did not extent to a part of the trade mark, that is, Whip Topping. “Rights in the entire or whole does not necessarily translate into a right in a “part” of the trade mark – as in this case,” the high court said.