US-based Burger King Corporation has lost a 13-year-long legal battle against a Pune-based restaurant of the same name after a district court dismissed the trademark infringement suit. The court’s August 16 verdict, delivered by District Judge Sunil Vedpathak, marked the end of the multinational fast-food chain’s attempt to stop the Pune-based restaurant from using the name ‘Burger King’.
The legal battle began in 2011 when Burger King Corporation filed a suit against Anahita and Shapoor Irani, the owners of Burger King in Pune, seeking a permanent injunction to restrain the local eatery from using the name. The corporation also sought Rs 20 lakh in damages, claiming that the Pune restaurant’s use of the name ‘Burger King’ was causing irreparable damage to its brand reputation.
However, the court ruled in favour of the Iranians, noting that they had been operating under the name ‘Burger King’ since 1992, long before the US company entered the Indian market in 2014. Judge Vedpathak said: “The defendants have been using the trade name for their restaurant since about 1992. The plaintiff’s pleadings make no mention at all of how customers were confused by the defendants’ use of the Burger King trademark for their restaurant.”
The court concluded that Burger King Corporation failed to provide any solid evidence that the Pune restaurant’s use of the name had caused confusion among customers or harmed the brand. Therefore, the court dismissed the multinational company’s claims for injunctive relief and damages and said that the company was not entitled to any financial compensation.
US-based Burger King, which was founded in 1954 and operates over 13,000 fast-food restaurants worldwide, argued that the Pune-based company’s use of the name “Burger King” could cause customer confusion and damage its global reputation. The company claimed that its brand had built up enormous goodwill over the decades and that any use of an identical or similar mark by another company would be dishonest and damaging.
The Iranians then claimed that the suit was filed in bad faith and aimed at scaring away legitimate businessmen like themselves. They argued that there was no similarity between their restaurant and the global fast-food chain other than the name. They also claimed that they had been subjected to harassment and intimidation since filing the suit and demanded Rs 20 lakh as compensation for the emotional distress caused to them by the process. However, the court refused to award the Iranians any financial compensation due to lack of solid evidence to support their claims.
The ruling allows Burger King in Pune to continue operating under the name that has been a staple of the city’s dining scene for over three decades, despite the global fast-food giant’s efforts to challenge its right to do so.
