Trademark suit: HC temporarily restrains Pune eatery from using the name “Burger King”

Bombay HC restrains Pune eatery from using "Burger King" trademark till Sept 6, granting interim relief to US-based Burger King in an ongoing infringement suit.

MUMBAI: In an interim relief to US giant Burger King in a trademark infringement suit, the Bombay high court (HC) on Monday restrained a Pune-based eatery from using the brand name till September 6.

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The company moved the high court last week, challenging an order passed by a Pune court dismissing its suit alleging trademark infringement against the namesake eatery.

The Pune-based food joint has been owned by a couple since 1989. It serves burgers and other food items which are popular among patrons in the city. The joint has been using the brand name since 1992.

The US-based food chain was started as a single restaurant by James McLamore and David Edgerton, in 1954, and now operates a worldwide chain of 13,000 fast food restaurants across 100 countries. The chain registered its trademark in India around April 1979; however, it opened a shop in Pune around April 2015.

A bench presided over by justice A S Chandurkar and justice Rajesh Patil, which heard the appeal for the first time was told by advocate Hiren Kamod, who represented the US-based food chain, that since the judgement challenged in the appeal was passed, ad-interim relief granted to it by the Pune court in 2012 had ceased to be operational.

The court will now hear the matter on September 6.A team of lawyers appearing on behalf of Burger King USA also included, Avesh Kayser, Raunak Kamath, and Alhan Kayser.