Bombay HC restrains Apollo Tyres from airing ad that denigrates CEAT

The Bombay High Court has recently passed an ex-parte order restraining Apollo Tyres from airing an advertisement that “ridiculed and disparaged” its competitor CEAT. The court found that the video commercial ‘prima facie’ denigrated and disparaged competitor’s product by unfairly portraying it as of inferior quality.

The court, in its order stated, “Upon seeing the impugned advertisement and the story board, prima facie, I am of the considered opinion that the Impugned Advertisement does, in fact, unfairly seeks to compare the Plaintiff’s worn out tyre with the Defendant’s brand new tyre and the basic premise of the impugned advertisement is to denigrate and slander the Plaintiff’s said CROSSDRIVE AT tyre.”

The court further stated, “The Plaintiff has made out a strong prima facie case for the grant of ad-interim reliefs. The balance of convenience is in favour of the Plaintiff.”

The court restrained Apollo Tyres from broadcasting or publishing the impugned advertisement on trade channels or on any online platform, including social media platform.

This legal action underscores CEAT’s commitment to protecting the integrity of their brand and ensuring fair competition within the tyre industry.

Reacting to the court’s order, CEAT, in a statement issued, said, “We believe this development serves as an important case study for the advertising and marketing community on the importance of ethical marketing practices and safeguarding intellectual property. Such practices are not new to the court, which in the past has taken an ethical position.”

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