According to the Bangalore-headquartered company, K K Lamps had been manufacturing bulbs under 'Safelife' brand in a "sheer infringement" of Wipro's 'Safelite' brand which accounts for about a fourth of Wipro's Rs 300 crore lighting business.
Anil Chugh, senior vice-president, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting said, "The said party had not only replicated the colour and design scheme of the Wipro Safelite pack design but had also flagged off our UVS benefit on its pack which is the main selling proposition of our bulbs."
Wipro's Safelite bulbs are equipped with UVS technology which reduces ultra-violet radiations making light safer for the eyes, according to the company.
The issue of K K Lamps using Wipro brand came to light when Wipro's sales team found the availability of large numbers of bulb packs in upcountry markets of Andhra Pradesh which were similar in look and design to Wipro's Safelite brand. Following this, the company filed a suit in the Delhi High court.
The court appointed a court commissioner who visited the premises of K K Lamps in Delhi. The commissioner found a several rolls of wrappers and finished products bearing the Safelite stamp and then seized those.
The market size for GLS bulbs in India is estimated to be about Rs 700 crore. Philips leads the market with a share of 40 per cent followed by Surya with about 25 per cent and Bajaj with a market share of about 10 per cent. Wipro has a share of about 7-8 per cent in this category.
Of late, Wipro Lighting had been focussing more on the compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), an area expected to overtake the normal bulbs very quickly in tune with the global trends. The price difference between the general and CFL bulbs in India is about 1:10.
According to Chugh, if the government lowers the excise duty on the CFL bulbs, the price of CFL bulbs will be reduced drastically.
Wipro manufacturers its lighting products in its factories located in Mysore, Waluj near Aurangabad and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.
