The Plaintiff is a company engaged in the sale of beauty, skincare, personal care, and baby products, under the brand DERMA CO. The products are offered with a distinctive two-tone color combination packaging. They came across the Defendants using a similar two-tone color combination packaging for their skincare products under the brand DERMA TOUCH. The Plaintiff argued that their trade dress is original, constitutes a copyrightable artistic work, and has been in use since 2020, while the Defendants began using similar color schemes in 2021.
The Court observed that the mere adoption of a two-tone color scheme cannot be protected unless it has acquired secondary meaning and distinctiveness among consumers. Moreover, the decision to purchase skincare products is usually guided by formulation, and dermatological recommendations rather than packaging colors. The Defendants’ products also prominently displayed their brand name, which was visually and phonetically distinct from the Plaintiff’s brand. Further, the Court observed that the rival products have coexisted in the market for the past four years, without any evidence of actual confusion. Accordingly, the Delhi High Court held that the Plaintiff had not established a prima facie case for infringement and denied interim relief.
Source: Honasa Consumer Limited v. Cloud Wellness Private Limited & Anr. [CS(COMM) 483/2025]