The Bombay High Court awarded Hindustan Unilever an interim relief, in the issue with Emami involving HUL rebranding its skin cream for men ‘Glow & Handsome’. Emami has claimed that it already has a cream named Glow and Handsome, Bloomberg reported.

The Court asked Emami to give seven days’ prior notice before striking a legal battle on the trademark.

Justice BP Colabwalla ordered the notice after hearing an application filed by HUL under the Trade Marks Act seeking an injunction against Emami from issuing “groundless threats” in view of the use of its trademark ‘Glow and Handsome’.

HUL sought in its application that the defendant (Emami) should give it at least seven days prior written notice before initiating any legal proceedings in any court or claiming any interim relief against HUL as threatened in the statements made by Emami.

After hearing the pleas, the court maintained that prima facie it does appear that HUL adopted the name first in September 2018 and subsequently on June 25, 2020.

“The statements made by the defendant (Emami) do amount to a threat, however, whether they are unlawful or groundless, that is something that will have to be decided after hearing both the sides,” the court said.

The next hearing is on July 27. As per the application, HUL, in 1975, launched a fairness face cream Fair & Lovely which was initially gender-neutral.

To specifically target the men’s segment, in 2006, HUL launched ‘Fair & Lovely, Men’. HUL said in 2018, it came up with and secured the trademarks ‘Glow & Lovely’ and ‘Glow & Handsome’.

HUL made the official announcement on July 2 this year that ‘Fair & Lovely’ was being rebranded as ‘Glow & Lovely’ and its skincare range products for men will be called ‘Glow & Handsome’.

Days after the announcement, Emami issued a press statement threatening legal action against HUL for violating its alleged rights in its mark ‘Emami Glow and Handsome’, HUL claimed in its application as mentioned in the Bloomberg report.

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