The Delhi High Court has permanently restrained a group of glass manufacturers from Firozabad from producing and selling empty glass jars that are deceptively similar in shape to the registered Nutella jar used by Ferrero Spa. The court found that these manufacturers were aware of Ferrero’s proprietary rights in the jar design and rejected their plea that they were merely making generic containers. The judges held that this was not a case of innocent infringement, but a knowing imitation of Ferrero’s registered shape mark.
Acting on Ferrero’s suit, the court ordered the manufacturers to hand over 3.05 lakh of the seized jars to Ferrero and to pay ₹10 lakh towards legal costs. The jars were confiscated from three locations in Firozabad and included 350 ml and 650 ml variants, along with brochures labeled “Nutella glass jars” and cartons bearing the Nutella mark. The court noted that the embossing on many of the seized jars matched embossing previously found on counterfeit Nutella products, suggesting that third parties were likely using these jars to package fake spreads.
Ferrero had discovered in 2022 that the defendants were advertising “Nutella glass jars” on their website and on platforms such as IndiaMart, and argued before the court that such containers were being used in the counterfeit market. The manufacturers countered by saying they were producing generic jars for a UAE client, and that the term “Nutella jar” was industry parlance and did not mean they were aware of any infringement. They denied involvement in any counterfeit Nutella production.
The court rejected their defense, pointing to internal communications — including emails and technical drawings referring to “Nutella cocoa jar” — which demonstrated that the glass makers had actual or constructive knowledge of Ferrero’s trademark rights. The judges further held that given Nutella’s long-standing presence in the Indian market, the defendants could not reasonably claim ignorance of Ferrero’s proprietary interests.
While the court declined to award Ferrero its full claim for damages — which ran into several crores — it made clear that this was not a case of accidental or first-time mistake. The court recognized the infringement as deliberate, but limited relief to costs, noting that the defendants had consented to a permanent injunction without contesting it at full trial.
In calculating legal costs, the court referred to established trademark jurisprudence and awarded ₹10 lakh, covering court fees, commissioner fees, and litigation expenses. Furthermore, the seized jars are to be handed over to Ferrero. The court permitted the company to either use them for its own products or to fill and donate them under a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. As for other packaging materials that were seized during raids, those are to be destroyed.
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