The Delhi High Court recently issued an interim order prohibiting skincare product manufacturer VBRO Skincare from producing or selling its products in packaging that resembles that of WOW Skin Science. The order was passed by Justice Prathiba M Singh, who also restrained VBRO from using the marks ‘WQVV’ or any other mark identical or deceptively similar to the trademark ‘WOW’.
The court’s order also referenced the phrase “Just looking like a wow!”, which has gained popularity on social media. The single-judge bench ruled that the defendants’ products bear a striking resemblance to WOW products and could potentially be mistaken for them.
The court ordered VBRO and its associates to cease using the marks ‘WQVV’ or any other mark that is identical or deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s trademark ‘WOW’ in the manufacture and sale of their products. The defendants were also restrained from manufacturing, selling, or offering for sale any personal care, household products, cosmetics, and household products in a trade dress, color combination, layout, or containers that substantially imitate the plaintiff’s trade dress, containers, and products.
E-commerce platforms Amazon, Flipkart, and Snapdeal were directed by the court to remove the listings of the defendants’ products from their platforms within 72 hours. However, Justice Singh clarified that the order does not prohibit the defendants from using the word ‘WOW’ in a descriptive sense to express surprise or exclamation.
Body Cupid Private Limited, the owner of WOW Skin Science, approached the High Court alleging that VBRO Skincare Private Limited was selling identical products under the marks ‘VBRO’ and ‘WQVV’, and had copied and imitated the entire trade dress, layout, color combination, and writing style of the WOW products.
Upon examining the physical products, the court concluded that the imitation was evident in the trade dress, layout, and color combination of the two products. The court emphasized that the containers and products sold by the defendants are almost complete imitations of the plaintiff’s products.
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