DSI obtains enjoining order against infringement of its AVI Brand

The Commercial High Court Judge Priyantha Fernando earlier this week issued an enjoining order against the Defendant, AVI Clothing, for engaging in the business of selling clothing with a brand name identical or confusingly similar to the AVI trademark and brand.

This was consequent to action filed in the Commercial High Court of Colombo by DSI through its lawyer Sudath Perera Associates, against an entity operating an e-commerce business on Facebook and Instagram under a purported name of “AVI Clothing”. The action was filed for the infringement of DSI’s AVI trademark and brand on the basis of unfair competition and passing-off.

D. Samson & Sons Ltd., widely known as DSI, in 2006 launched ‘AVI’, a local sportswear brand and, owing to its tremendous success, goodwill and reputation, in 2022, an AVI exclusive brand outlet was opened in Colombo 7.

The plaintiff, DSI, pleaded that the defendant has copied the mark “AVI” belonging to the Plaintiff in a phonetically and visually similar manner with the deliberate intention of passing off its products as those of the plaintiff.

The plaintiff further pleaded that the slight insignificant changes in the impugned mark used by the defendant are unnoticeable to the average consumers and deliberately adopted with the mala fide intention of the defendant to usurp the goodwill and reputation of the Plaintiff’s AVI trademark.

The Commercial High Court having heard the submissions of the Lead Counsel for the plaintiff issued an enjoining order as prayed for by the plaintiff restraining the defendant from continuing to use the name/sign/mark “AVI” or any other variation thereof and from carrying out the business under the trade name “AVI Clothing” and any other variation thereof and using any other trade name or trademark confusingly similar to plaintiff’s trade name or trademark. Furthermore, notice was issued on the defendant to appear in Court on 10 April.

Attorneys-at-Law Manoj Bandara and Nayomi Chethana, instructed by Sudath Perera Associates, appeared for DSI.