Mackwoods Tea Limited has instituted action against Brown & Company and three other companies of the Browns Group in the Commercial High Court on March 30,2017 to prevent Browns engaging in unfair competition causing damage to the goodwill and reputation of Mackwoods Tea.
President’s Counsel, K. Kanag-Isawaran appearing for Mackwoods while seeking the first enjoining order, drew attention of Court to the various acts of the Defendants (Browns Group) constituting unfair competition in the running of the Labookellie Tea Centre misleading the public as to who was in fact running the Tea Centre.
Additionally further enjoining orders was sought preventing the Defendants from using Tea Packages confusingly similar to that of Mackwoods Tea with the colour combination of British Racing Green and Gold.
The third enjoining order was sought to prevent the Defendants from using a tea canister similar to that of the iconic silver tea canister introduced by Mackwoods for their 160th Anniversary which is being used by Mackwoods even at present.
Whilst cases under unfair competition are commonly instituted to prevent the offender from using trade names, trade dress etc. which are confusingly similar to that of the Plaintiff, this is a unique and exceptional circumstance where relief is sought to prevent another from copying the running of a business at the business premises posing to be another.
President’s Counsel, K. Kanag-Isawaran with Lakshmanan Jaykumar and Rozali Fernando instructed by F.J & G de Saram appeared for Mackwoods. After considering the submissions made by Counsel for Mackwoods and documents filed in Court, Judge Ruwan Fernando granted all three enjoining orders sought against Browns.
After the contentious sale of Agalwatte Plantations to Browns Power Holdings by the Mackwoods Group, the reputed Labookellie Tea Centre established by Mackwoods around 2003 continued to be run under the management of Browns.
This was, however in violation of an enjoining order granted by the District Court Nuwara-Eliya in case No. SPL/176/16 in favour of Mackwoods preventing Browns from entering the said Tea Centre. Browns in complete disregard of the said enjoining order took over the management of the Labookellie Tea Centre ousting Mackwoods from the said Tea Centre.
Browns thereafter sold their brand ‘Labookellie Tea’ packaged in boxes almost identical to the packaging of ‘Mackwoods Tea’.
Mackwoods Tea has been associated with the colour combination of British Racing Green and Gold for over 175 years and even after the re-branding of Mackwoods Tea around 2002, the above colour combination continued as a result of the vast reputation it had gained worldwide.
Browns, being well aware of the reputation gained by Mackwoods Tea, marketed their brand ‘Labookellie Tea’ at the Labookellie Tea centre, previously run by Mackwoods, in the same manner and form as Mackwoods, causing the public to wrongly believe that both the Labookellie Tea Centre and the brand ‘Labookellie Tea’ were still associated with Mackwoods.
Browns had affixed their name board at the Tea Centre replacing the Mackwoods Board, copying the same shape and colour combination of the latter.
Furthermore, it is alleged that Browns had not only copied the tea packages but also the tea sets in which Mackwoods served their tea, other handloom gift items sold by Mackwoods at their gift shop and even the paper bags in which the Tea was packed and given to the customers, in a desperate attempt to piggy-back on the goodwill and reputation of Mackwoods Tea gained over 175 years’ experience in the Tea industry.
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