Britannia takes Danone to court on Tiger IPR

New Delhi, Sept 20 (UNI) Domestic cookie giant Britannia Industries today said it has initiated legal action against Groupe Danone in Singapore and has served legal notice pertaining to Tiger IPR.

Based on legal advice the Nusli Wadia-owned Britannia has initiated legal action against Groupe Danone under direction of its IPR Committee, said a company statement.

Meanwhile, reacting to the legal notice Groupe Danone has said that a judge will be welcome to arbitrate in the matter.

Stating that it has a different position on the IP of Tiger, Groupe Danone said that both sides have tried to find an amicable solution.

The IPR Committee of the Board of Britannia was created in May 2006 to deal with all IPR matters of the company and for the last year has been working to resolve the issue of the use and registration of Tiger by Groupe Danone in several countries.

Britannia is pushing for a fast ruling in a Singapore court as Danone is now in the process of selling its global biscuit business to the US-based Kraft Foods.

Additionally, Britannia informed that Mr Nusli Wadia yesterday resigned from the IPR Committee to ensure that there is no potential conflict of interest in dealing with the Tiger IPR matter and the discussions between the Wadia Group and Groupe Danone over shareholder matters.

The IPR Committee will now consist of the MD of Britannia, Vinita Bali and three independent directors-Nimesh Kampani, Keki Dadiseth and Dr Vijay Kelkar who will also chair the Committee.

The Tiger dispute originated when Britannia alleged that Danone moved for registering the brand in over 70 countries across the world without its permission or knowledge.

The indigenously-developed Tiger biscuits account for about 20 per cent of Britannia's annualised revenue, and has been the company's key growth driver.

UNI