Setting aside its single judge order that barred Intas Pharmaceuticals from selling its cancer medication under the name Bevatas for being similar to Sun Pharma’s Bevetex, a division bench (DB) of Justices Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora and V. Kameswar Rao said that the two drugs sold under the marks Bevatas and Bevetex, though broadly falling within the category of anti-cancer pharmaceutical preparations, are distinct and dissimilar in composition, therapeutic purpose, indication, dosage and mode of administration, and are admittedly not therapeutic substitutes of each other. The two drugs are, therefore, not identical goods or even closely similar goods, it held.
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The court held that the prefix ‘Bev’ and ‘Beva’ are ‘publici juris’ for anti-cancer drugs containing the molecule ‘Bevacizumab‘. “The rival marks, when compared as a whole, are neither visually, structurally nor phonetically similar, and thus Intas’ mark does not constitute infringement of Sun Pharma’s registered trademark. The suit filed by Sun Pharma was not in public interest and was pursued solely to protect its commercial interest in its mark ‘Bevetex,’ the judgment stated, adding that the single judge failed to carry out an evidence-based assessment of Sun Pharma Laboratories’ allegation of deceptive similarity and likelihood of confusion on part of the public, it said.