There’s a cracker cooking at the Designs Registry between the two Indian confectionery companies Britannia Industries and Parle Products Pvt. Ltd., according to two recent orders of the Calcutta High Court.The High Court has returned two design registrations for biscuit packets (registered by Parle circa February 2002) to the Designs Office for reconsideration, observing that it was “evident” that the Office had not taken into account the prior publications submitted by the opponent in their cancellation petitions.
Britannia had originally applied for cancellation of the two designs at the Registry, arguing that the biscuit packets lacked novelty, and were neither new nor original. Britannia also argued that the Designs Office had failed to “appreciate that the magazines that the appellant had relied on and a text book that the appellant had placed contained depiction of the same design published well prior to the registration of the relevant design.”
Britannia had, in its cancellation applications, relied on two issues of a magazine by the name of “Packaging India” published in 1998 and 1999, and a book entitled “Biscuits, Cookies and Crackers”, appropriately written by a person named Noel Almond 🙂 that describes the biscuit-making process. Britannia argued before the High Court that the extracts from the magazines and the book would show that Parle was not entitled to apply for or obtain registration of the design primarily on grounds of prior publication and of the design being functional and common to the trade.
I couldn’t locate the designs under challenge, since the registration numbers failed to show up images in my search. In any case, readers who know what exactly is being challenged are welcome to share details. We shall update you as and when.
For more on that iconic Parle-G biscuit cover, click here.
Vile Parle, after which, the story goes, the company was named, here.
Britannia Tiger here.
Commonwealth Games Shera here.
Did you know there is also Britannia the Board Game (1066 and all that) here
Dear Sumathi Chandrashekaran,
Could you please clarify that whether the design is for biscuit or for Biscuit packet.
Your Title says Biscuit design and all that. But, the content of the story and the court order speak on biscuit packet.
K.Muthu Selvam
Hi there –
thanks for pointing this out. The cases refer to biscuit packet designs and not biscuit designs. Have made appropriate changes in the title. My apologies for any confusion caused.
THANK YOU