Cook Studio v/s Coke Studio: a Trademark settlement case
Cook Studio v/s Coke Studio: a Trademark settlement case
In a trademark settlement with Coca-Cola Company having a trademark 'Coke Studio', a food blogging platform called 'Cook Studio' agreed to change its name to 'Cook Pro 6.'
"The court on perusal of the terms of settlement has found the same to be lawful. There was no impediment in recording the settlement. Accordingly, the parties and all others acting for and on their behalf shall be bound by the settlement terms contained above. The suit is decreed in terms of the above terms recorded in paras 5(1) to 5(5) above", observed Justice Pratibha M. Singh of the Delhi High Court.
As per the terms of the settlement mentioned in a Joint Memo, the plaintiff shall adopt the mark "Cook Pro 6" instead of the mark "Cook Studio" for the channels and platforms where the latter has been under use and shall completely transition to the mark "Cook Pro 6" and abandon the use of "Cook Studio" by November 30, 2022. Additionally, Coca-Cola Company shall not object to, nor otherwise interfere in any manner with the use of the new mark and iterations of "Cook Pro 6."
It was agreed between the parties and all trademark registration applications relating to "Cook Studio" shall be withdrawn and consequentially the plaintiff shall withdraw the captioned suit.
In view of the fact that the dispute was amicably resolved, the Court directed a complete refund of the Court fee to the plaintiff and decreed the suit accordingly.
The plaintiff argued that there is complete disparity in the logo and color combination of the two marks and the works 'Cook' and 'Studio' are also generic words. The Court in its last hearing had referred the trademark infringement dispute for mediation as it opined that an attempt should be made to amicably resolve the dispute first.
The Court was dealing with a suit instituted by the plaintiff Nikhil Chawla after he received a notice from the defendant - Coca Cola Company asking him to desist from using the mark COOK STUDIO for his culinary related blog.
