Delhi HC Restrains Zydus Green Energy From Using ‘Zydus’ Trademark

The Delhi High Court on Friday restrained Zydus Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. from using ‘Zydus’ or any deceptively similar name, citing trademark infringement of Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. The court also appointed a local commissioner to conduct further investigation and issued a notice to Zydus Green Energy.

The court observed that the use of ‘Zydus’ by the respondent was “completely unjustified” and appeared to be an attempt to ride on the goodwill built by the petitioner. It said there was a prima facie case to grant an injunction in favour of Zydus Lifesciences.

The order came in response to a trademark infringement suit filed by Zydus Lifesciences, a pharmaceutical company that manufactures generic drugs, against Zydus Green Energy, which operates in the renewable energy space. The latter provides services in compressed natural gas, compressed biogas, biodiesel and ethanol.

Zydus Lifesciences said it discovered in February that Zydus Green Energy was using the ‘Zydus’ name and had also filed a trademark application to register the name on a ‘proposed to be used’ basis. The pharma company has approached the Ministry of Corporate Affairs seeking rectification of Zydus Green Energy’s name in official records.

Zydus Lifesciences argued that ‘Zydus’ is a coined word with no dictionary meaning and was first registered as a trademark by the company in 1995. It said the brand has gained strong recognition through its manufacturing and research footprint in India, and its presence in the US and European markets.