Differences between Bisleri chief Ramesh Chauhan and Coca-Cola India over the Maaza trademark intensified on Wednesday with Chauhan demanding Rs 20 crore as compensation from the cola giant for allegedly breaching an agreement preventing the latter from registering the trademark in countries other than India.
"If Bisleri does not receive this compensation, we will take legal action against Coca-Cola for violating the contract and the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement," Chauhan, chairman and managing director of Bisleri, India's leader in packaged-drinking water and creator of the Maaza brand, told Business Standard.
He did not explain how he had arrived at the Rs 20 crore figure.
Coca-Cola India, however, has dismissed Chauhan's compensation claims, saying it has not violated any agreement.
The two companies signed agreements in November 1993 and May 1994 for the acquisition of intellectual property rights of the Maaza trademark in India.
Bisleri made the claim based on Clause 8 of the agreement, which states: "...the rights and obligations relating to the business of 'Maaza' outside the Union of India shall not be assigned to The Coca-Cola Company but shall be retained by Acqua Minerals" (now known as Bisleri International).
A Coke spokesperson said compensation is justified when there is a breach of contract, which was not the case.
The spokesperson added that Clause 1 and 4 in the licence agreement between the two companies clearly stated that the licence over Maaza is a non-exclusive one and that Bisleri as the licensee will not be the sole permitted licensee of the Maaza trademark and the formulations.
So, Coca-Cola has as much right over the brand.
"We have no intention of registering the trademark in other countries," the spokesperson added.
Coca-Cola also argued that since all the agreements were signed in the UK, it is bound by the laws of England where the International Court of Arbitration will look into the matter. Legal action in an Indian court would not make sense.
The first incident that triggered the differences was in 2003 when Bisleri in Holland discovered that Coca-Cola had applied to register the Maaza trademark, which it withdrew.
In 2007, Bisleri's Turkey office discovered that Coca-Cola had made another application to register the Maaza trademark there. This application was also withdrawn.
In a letter dated March 21, 2008, Chauhan communicated his concerns over the registration of the Maaza trademark in other countries.
A month later, Coca-Cola replied that "there was no non-compete agreement entered into by the Chauhan Entities to restrain the Coca-Cola company in relation to any country where the Maaza trademark was not registered by a Chauhan Entity at the time of the Parle transaction."
Chauhan disagreed with the idea of a non-compete agreement in this case as both companies were competing before and after 1993.
In his letter dated April 22, 2008, he said that Coca-Cola's attempt to register the trademark outside India was illegal.
