HC gives relief to Nestle on use of 'Yo'

Barely a week after FMCG major Nestle was restrained from using 'Yo!' for its noodles, the Delhi High Court in its interim order has allowed the company to sell its product under the mark "Masala Yo".
A division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Manmohan stayed the order passed by a single bench, which hada restrained Nestle from using 'Yo!' word for its products on a petition by Moods Hospitality Pvt Ltd, which runs the 'Yo China' fast food chain.
The Bench turned down the plea of Chinese food chain, which had pleaded that the MNC was trying to capitalise on its goodwill by using the word 'YO!' with its noodles.
"Nestle is admittedly a market leader in this segment and therefore also prima facie there does not seem to be an intent to cause any confusion or deception or to capitalise on the respondents/platiffs (YO China) goodwill," the bench said while passing the order.
The Court further said that the mark 'YO!' used by Nestle is simply to describe flavour of the product.
Press Trust of India / New Delhi June 13, 2008, 17:52 IST
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