Bombay High Court rules in favour of AB InBev in trademark case

The court ruled that using the "COX 5001" trademark amounts to "passing off", a term used in intellectual property rights (IPR) law referring to making a false representation that is likely to mislead someone into believing that the goods or services come from another source.

ET Bureau

Published On Dec 15, 2025 at 10:29 AM IST

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has issued a permanent injunction preventing Madhya Pradesh-based Jagpin Breweries from using the name "COX 5001" for its beer. The judgment comes more than a decade after the Indian arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), which sells the well-known 'Haywards 5000''beer in India, filed a trademark infringement case against the mass-market beer producer.

The court ruled that using the "COX 5001" trademark amounts to "passing off", a term used in intellectual property rights (IPR) law referring to making a false representation that is likely to mislead someone into believing that the goods or services come from another source.

Advt Justice Arif Doctor said "the numeral 5001 is conceptually and visually similar to 5000, which constitutes the essential and prominent feature of the plaintiff's (AB InBev's) trademark".

"The average consumer, with imperfect recollection, encountering the defendant's (Jagpin Breweries') product in the market is likely to be left in a state of wonderment or confusion as to the origin of the goods and to be led to believe that the same emanate from or have a connection with the plaintiff," the court said in its order last week.

The court said that given the petitioner company's immense goodwill and reputation, such confusion and misrepresentation would lead to a real and tangible likelihood of damage to AB InBev's goodwill, since consumers or persons in the trade are likely to associate the defendant's beer with that of the petitioners.

AB InBev is the world's largest brewer. It had approached the court in 2012 to restrain Jagpin Breweries from using the mark "COX 5001" for its beer.

Appearing for AB InBev's local subsidiary, advocate Ashutosh Kane had argued that the mark is a composite label comprising the word "Haywards" together with the numeral "5000", and that both elements constitute the distinctive, essential and leading features of the label mark.

The company said the defendant's adoption of the mark was "plainly dishonest and undertaken solely with the intention of exploiting the plaintiff's tremendous reputation and goodwill".

Advt AB InBev's local subsidiary pointed out that the defendant had no plausible reason to adopt the numeral "5001" except to trade upon the established market recognition of the plaintiff's well-known mark "Haywards 5000".