In an important judgement, a commercial court of Pune has ruled in favour of Pune’s popular Burger King in Camp after 13 years of wrangling lawsuit. District Judge Sunil Vedpathak in his order dated August 16 dismissed the petition filed against the local establishment by global fast food giant US-based Burger King Corporation. The lawsuit had sought a permanent injunction restraining infringement of trademark, passing off, damages/rendition of accounts, delivery and other factors.
The suit was initiated by Burger King Corporation represented by Pankaj Pahuja against Anahita and Shapoor Irani, owners of M/s Burger King which operates its iconic eatery at Camp and Koregaon Park areas. The multinational had sought claims for damages and permanent ban on the use of the name. The team of advocate Abhijit Sarwate assisted by advocates Srushti Angane and Rahul Pardeshi represented Pune’s Burger King in the case.
In his ruling, Judge Vedpathak noted that Pune’s Burger King had been using the business name and trademark since 1992-1993, long before the American corporation registered its trademark in India. The judge emphasised that the US company had not used the trademark in India for nearly 30 years, during which time Pune’s Burger King consistently provided services under the name, making their use of the trademark legal and honest.
Burger King Corporation founded in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton ran a restaurant under the name BURGER KING which currently manages and operates a worldwide chain of 13,000 fast food restaurants in more than 100 countries and US territories worldwide.
Almost 97% of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. The multinational company is presently the second largest fast food hamburger company in the world employing 30,300 people. The first BURGER KING franchised restaurant in Asia was opened in 1982 and there are currently over 1,200 units in Asia. The company entered the Indian market in 2014 opening outlets in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and discovered that a restaurant was already operating under the same name since 2008.
The global giant in its petition stated that the cause for filing a present lawsuit arose in 2008 when the US-based firm came to know about the existence of the trademark application of Pune’s Burger King under no.1209146 for BURGER KING. The foreign firm also found that the Iranis are also operating a restaurant under the name Burger King in Pune and sent them a cease and desist letter/notice. The Iranis’s agent in reply on July 3, 2009 insisted on using the name Burger King for its restaurant.
The Pune-based Burger King’s refusal to agree to the demands of US firm lead to a prolonged court battle spanned over a decade.
“The ruling acknowledges Burger King Pune as the honest and prior user of the name, securing a landmark victory after a legal battle. The name is well known in Pune,” the lawyers representing Pune’s Burger King stated.
