'Mother dairy' restrained used by Amul: HC

New Delhi, May 7: The Delhi High Court has restrained the Rs 3000-crore Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the owner of the 'Amul' brand, to sell its milk, icecream and other milk products under the name of 'Mother diary' in the Capital.

Justice Swatanter Kumar in his interim order said, ''The GCMMF is restrained from manufacturing, selling, advertising and supplying the milk, milk products and frozen desserts under the predominated trademark 'Mother Dairy' particularly in Delhi.'' The petition was filed by the Rs 4000 crore-Mother Dairy Fruit&Vegetables Pvt Ltd (MDFVPL), a unit of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), headed by Dr Amrita Patel.

However, the Court said that the GCMMF, popularly known as Amul, had altered and introduced the trade name 'Mother Dairy' only in November 2004.

''But an intrusion into the business of the plaintiff's (MDFVPL) by violating and infringing their trademark, which they are using for years together now would not be just fair," the Judge said in his order.

The court also observed that both the undertakings were floated under the national schemes to give boost to the cooperative movements in rural India and ''they are more expected to work in harmony with each other without causing avoidable loss and infringement into the business of each other.'' The MDFVPL in its petition had contended that it had adopted the trade name since 1974 particularly in Delhi and it had the exclusive right to use the said trademarks due to prior adoption, long continuous and extensive use across the country and abroad through advertising, marketing and promotional activities.