HC restrains airing of Mortein ads

oduct with which "Mortein" is being compared is that of the plaintiff i.e. All Out machine. This is evident from the pluggy device which is plugged in and shown as old machine. The apparatus which is used bears a striking resemblance and is almost identical to its apparatus," the company said in its petition.  While arguing that it was an act of disparagement, Karamchand Appliances submitted that though the defendants had right to advertise their products, they were not allowed to have advertisements which were disparaging in nature and showed its product in poor light in comparison to the defendant's product.  According to the petition, the defendants had earlier agreed to modify and remove all the objectionable frames in the advertisement which thereafter had resulted in a consent order before the court in September this year.  However, the defendants had launched the impugned commercials which further established their malafide intent, it said. According to Karamchand Appliances, even after its complete acquisition by SC Johnson, it is still dedicated to introduce various other brands and products in India from its global portfolio.  Karamchand Appliances had been manufacturing and marketing a range of household insecticides/mosquito repellents under brands All Out and Baygon since 1992.  While the company had annual sales of over Rs 268 crore for the year ending March 2005, it had spent approximately Rs 29.45 crore in advertising its products under the trademark All Out for the year, the petition said.