In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court recently dismissed Pernod Ricard India’s appeal seeking to block a smaller rival from selling London Pride whisky, dealing a blow to the liquor giant’s efforts to monopolise the word Pride in India’s booming spirits market. The apex court upheld the decisions of two lower courts, refusing to grant an interim injunction against the rival whisky brand in a trademark infringement and passing off suit.
The judgment, arising from Civil Appeal No. 10638 of 2025, stems from a legal battle initiated by Pernod Ricard against Karanveer Singh Chhabra. Pernod Ricard, the maker of popular brands Blenders Pride (₹1,700 crore annual sales) and Imperial Blue (₹2,700 crore), had alleged that the Chhabra’s London Pride whisky was not only phonetically and visually similar to their registered marks, but also that its packaging and trade dress were a colourable imitation of their established brands. The company argued that the use of the word ‘PRIDE’ in London Pride was a deliberate attempt to piggyback on the immense goodwill and reputation of their brand Blenders Pride, which has been in extensive use since 1995.
However, the Commercial Court in Indore and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh had both previously rejected Pernod Ricard’s application for an interim injunction, a decision now affirmed by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s detailed analysis found no grounds to interfere with the lower courts’ concurrent findings. The court’s reasoning centred on the core principle of trademark law: the likelihood of confusion in the mind of an average consumer. While acknowledging this principle, the court determined that the rival marks were not “deceptively similar.” The judgment noted that the overall visual appearance, phonetic structure, and trade dress of the two products, despite sharing some generic elements like the colours blue and gold, were sufficiently distinct.