Britannia drags Danone to court over Tiger

Britannia Industries has dragged French Dairy major Groupe Danone to a Singapore court for allegedly usurping the intellectual property rights of its Tiger biscuit brand.

Groupe Danone and Mumbai-based Wadia Group are equal partners in UK-based, Associated Biscuits International Holding (ABIH), which holds 50.96 per cent stake in Britannia Industries.

"Based on legal advice and under the direction of its IPR committee, Britannia has initiated legal action against Groupe Danone in Singapore pertaining to Tiger IPR," according to a statement issued by Britannia Industries.

The company stated that Wadia Group and Britannia Industries Chairman Nusli Wadia had also stepped down as chairman of the IPR committee to ensure that there is no potential conflict of interest in dealing with the Tiger IPR matter and the subsequent discussions between the Wadia Group and Groupe Danone over shareholder matters.

The IPR committee of the Britannia board was created in May 2006 to deal with all IPR matters. For the last one year, the committee has been working to resolve the issue of the use and registration of Tiger by Groupe Danone in several countries, without the consent or authorisation of the Britannia board.

The IPR Committee will now consist of the MD of Britannia, Vinita Bali and three independent directors; Nimesh Kampani, Keki Dadiseth and Vijay Kelkar. The committee will be chaired by Kelkar.

In the past, sources said Danone had in-principle agreed to return the Tiger brand to Britannia and offer them a compensation of $ 1.34 million (roughly Rs 5.3 crore at current rates). This offer was rejected by the Wadias.

Yesterday at the Britannia annual general meeting, Wadia had said that he was upset that Danone had, without informing Britannia, moved to establish the Tiger brand as its own property in 70 countries and had managed to obtain the 'Tiger' registration in 40 countries.

Britannia executives had told reporters that they would consider legal action against Groupe Danone to stop international usage of Tiger biscuit brand by Danone.

In July this year, Danone signed an agreement to sell its biscuits business globally except India and Latin America to Kraft.

Britannia claims that Danone currently sells Tiger in five countries""Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore, a charge that Danone refutes.

A Groupe Danone spokesperson told Business Standard that both the Wadia Group and Groupe Danone had different positions regarding the intellectual property rights of the Tiger Brand. "We have tried to find a solution amicably. So a third party as a judge will be welcome to arbitrate," the spokesperson added, probably hinting that a series of talks held between both the two groups, including one early this month, have failed to bear fruit.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court yesterday adjourned hearing in a arbritation petition filed by Groupe Danone against Wadia Group's Kalabakan Investments.