In February 2005, Pfizer discovered that Renovision was selling products under the name VIGOURA, which they described as “Nervine Tonic for Men” and “Homeopathic Medicine Invented in Germany.” Pfizer accused Renovision of trademark infringement, arguing that VIGOURA was confusingly similar to VIAGRA and could therefore mislead consumers about the origin of the goods. As a result, the case was taken to court. In the statement of claim, Pfizer emphasized that VIAGRA was launched on the US market in 1998 and has since generated approximately $10 billion in revenue worldwide. The VIAGRA trademark has n registered in over 147 countries, including India since 1996.
In response to the lawsuit, Renovision argued that their products, such as “Vigoura 1000,” “Vigoura 2000,” and “Vigoura 5000,” are distinct homeopathic medicines with different purposes and do not constitute direct competition with VIAGRA. They claimed that the effects of their medicines appear gradually, in contrast to the immediate effect of VIAGRA. Consequently, there is no infringement in this case.
After examining the case, the Delhi court concluded that the VIGOURA and VIAGRA trademarks are phonetically and visually similar, which could lead to consumer confusion. It emphasized that the similarity in the “Vi” prefix and the “Ra” suffix creates a phonetic resemblance. The letter structure and length of both trademarks also contribute to their similarity. Adding numbers to VIGOURA does not sufficiently distinguish it from VIAGRA.
As a result, the court ruled that Renovision’s use of the VIGOURA trademark infringes Pfizer’s trademark rights for VIAGRA, due to the existing similarities and the risk of misleading consumers.
Fill out the form and we will get back to you within the next … with a preliminary quote.
