| Soap firms in fresh row over trademark
2006-09-10 09:19:48
By Deodatus Mfugale, PST, Dar es Salaam
An Indonesian soap manufacturing company is in the final stages of filing a civil suit in the Commercial Division of the High Court against a local soap and edible oil company for encroaching on its trademark.
The Indonesian company, Perseroan Terbatas (PT) Wings Suraya (Wings Group), alleges that Murzah Oil Mills Ltd of Tanzania, which also produces soap and edible oil, has been manufacturing beauty soap bearing the GIV trademark without its permission, thus affecting the latter’s business.
Wings Group owns the trademark GIV Beauty Soap, which is used under licence in Tanzania by Sumaria Holdings.
Wings Group regional sales manager of international business division, Hendra Sunardi, told PST by telephone recently from Jakarta that his company has been losing business in Tanzania as a result of Murzah Oil Mills Ltd encroachment on its trademark, hence the move to petition the High Court to arbitrate.
’’The Tanzanian company is using our trademark illegally. After compiling supporting evidence, we are going to file a new civil litigation against Murzah by next week in Dar es Salaam High Court, Commercial Division,’’ Sunardi told PST.
According to the sales manager, the wrangle between Wings Group and Murzah Oil Mills dates back to 2003 when on October 17, the former filed a suit in High Court, commercial case No.100, 2003.
The company filed the suit after suspecting that Murzah Oil Mills Ltd was manufacturing and distributing GIV Beauty Soap in Tanzania without its approval.
The case dragged on until May 14, 2004, when it was concluded through an out-of-court settlement in which Murzah Oil Mills conceded that Wings Group is the legal proprietor of GIV Beauty Soap, identified as TM No.22645 in Class Three, Schedule III.
’’The company thus agreed to cease permanently to manufacture, supply, sell, distribute or advertise any soap bearing the trademark GIV or any similar, look-alike design and device bearing the GIV trademark,’’ Sunardi explained.
The parties also agreed that Murzah Oil Mills would compensate Wings Group USD20,000 as part of the settlement of the dispute and that the Tanzanian company would in three months of the agreement, exhaust all stocks of raw materials used to make the soap, including boxes, cartons, packets, containers, labels and all advertising materials bearing the GIV trade mark.
It was also agreed that the parties would negotiate and conclude a co-operation agreement that would enable Murzah Oil Mills to manufacture and sell beauty soap bearing the GIV trademark under licence.
However, Sunardi claims that after the expiry of the three months grace period, Muzar Oil Mills continued to produce and distribute GIV Beauty Soap contrary to the Deed Settlement.
’’By February 19 last year, Murzah Oil Mills was still producing and distributing GIV Beauty Soap in breach of the settlement. We filed an application in the High Court requesting the court to punish the company for breach of the agreement and contempt of court but we lost the case,’’ he explained.
Records show that Judge Stephen Bwana dismissed the application with costs on August 9, last year, for lack of sufficient proof of the allegations.
Asked if there was any attempt by Murzah Oil Mills to negotiate for production of GIV under licence, Sunardi said that there was none.
’The negotiation has never been established. No particular reason has been given, perhaps Murzah did not have that intention,’’ he said.
This reporter also sought to know the fresh grounds Wings Group had to institute a new suit while their last application failed for lack of sufficient evidence. Sunardi said that they have gathered fresh evidence that would give the suit more credibility.
Efforts to get comments from the management of Murzah Oil Mills Ltd eventually paid off on Monday.
Speaking through telephone, the General Manager, Lakshmi Narayan, explained that the dispute between the two companies was settled out of court and recorded as consent judgement on May 14, 2004.
He conceded further that the consent judgement stipulates, among other things, that the two parties start negotiations and reach a conclusion that would enable Murzah Oil Mills Ltd to manufacture and sell GIV Beauty Soap under licence from Wings.
’’Unfortunately the Indonesian Company has not been ready to start the negotiations leaving us with no option but to continue production of the soap. It is true that we are currently producing the soap but we are cooperating with another company that has a licence from the Indonesian company,’’ the General Manager said. He would not reveal the name of the company.
He insisted that his company is ready to negotiate with Wings for a licence to produce GIV Beauty Soap but the matter now lies with the Indonesia Company. |
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