Biscuit Wars: Court Asks ITC, Britannia To Sort Out Differences On Packaging Battle

The Supreme Court has reportedly encouraged ITC and Britannia Industries to engage in a discussion and settle their dispute over allegedly similar packaging.

What Happened: The court suggested the exchange of ideas to amicably resolve the matter concerning the packaging of Sunfeast MOM’s Magic Butter Cookies by ITC, the Economic Times reported.

ITC had contested the Madras High Court’s November order, which restricted it from using the Sunfeast MOM’s Magic packaging. The High Court based its decision on the claim that the blue color of Sunfeast MOM’s Magic resembled Britannia’s Good Day Butter Cookies packaging, implying dishonest adoption by ITC.

See Also: LIC-Backed Small Cap Stock Surges 5% After Bagging ₹1,500 Cr Order

The Supreme Court bench, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, noted that both companies produce premium products consumed widely and proposed a dialogue between the parties for a potential resolution. The court scheduled the matter for further hearing in January.

Senior counsels Mukul Rohatgi and AM Singhvi, representing ITC, highlighted the generic nature of blue and yellow colors in the context of butter biscuits. Britannia, in a previous case related to zero-sugar digestive biscuits, asserted that blue was a generic color in the trade and no exclusivity could be claimed. ITC argued that Britannia’s position in the earlier case contradicted its current claim of distinctiveness and proprietary rights.

The High Court’s order had come after Britannia accused ITC of selling similar products under the Sunfeast brand, using the “Mom’s Magic” trademark, with the alleged intent of exploiting Britannia’s goodwill.

ITC recently beat the likes of Adani Wilmar, Britannia, Parle Products and others to become India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer by domestic sales in the foods space in the nine months to September, data from market tracker NielsenIQ, shared by three industry executives, showed. 

Read Next: Why IRCTC Share Price Is Shooting Up After Major Announcment