Delhi HC Refuses To Stop Sun Pharma From Selling ‘Pruease’ Tablets

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed RSPL Health Pvt Ltd.’s plea to stop Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and its subsidiary Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd. from selling Pruease tablets, ruling there was no risk of confusion with RSPL’s Pro-ease brand.

RSPL Health had claimed that Sun Pharma’s use of ‘Pruease’ infringed on its ‘Pro-ease’ trademark, which it uses for sanitary products like napkins and towels. But the high court said the two products were entirely different and sold through separate trade channels, making it unlikely that consumers would mix them up.

The court noted that Sun Pharma had clearly stated it had no plans to enter the sanitary products space. It also said RSPL failed to establish a strong enough case for an injunction, while the balance of convenience leaned towards Sun Pharma.

According to the court, Sun Pharma has been using the ‘Pruease’ name since at least 2017. The company said the name was derived from the chemical compound prucalopride and the word ‘ease’, to reflect its use in treating constipation—an approach the court found standard in the pharmaceutical industry.

RSPL had accused Sun Pharma of adopting a deceptively similar mark with dishonest intent, but the court found no evidence to support that claim at this stage.