Delhi HC asks Ambuja Cements & JSW Cement to mediate 'kawach' trademark dispute amicably

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked leading cement manufacturers Ambuja Cements and JSW Cement to resolve their trademark infringement dispute over "kawach" trademark amicably through mediation.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora while issuing summons to JSW Cement and its arm JSW IP Holdings asked the two cement manufacturers to try out-of-court settlement and referred the case to mediation. The court posted the matter for further hearing on October 15, in case the mediation fails.

Adani-owned Ambuja Cements was seeking to restrain JSW firms from infringing its trademark, alleging that the latter copied "Kawach" brand in its "Jal Kavach" cement launched recently.

Ambuja wants the court to restrain JSW from using the name in its cement, which is allegedly similar to its 'Ambuja Kawach' trademark. It claimed that while the registered mark is in use since 2020 for its water repellent cement meant to protect from dampness, JSW launched a competing product 'JSW Cement CHD Jal Kavach' and applied for its trademark registration in May only.

The Adani firm told the court that its rival's products and marketing strategy were designed to copy the Ambuja Cements' branding. The use of similar descriptive terms such as "water resistance", "seepage prevention" and "durability" is just to capitalise on its established reputation of its "Kawach" product, Ambuja added.