ERIC AMANKWAH vs. AHOMKA BEVERAGES LIMITED [2019]DLHC6879

Date	2019-05-16
Suit No.	SUIT NO. OCC/96/2019
Citation No.	[2019]DLHC6879

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE DR. RICHMOND OSEI-HWERE

EBENEZER ADJEI BEDIAKO FOR THE PLAINTIFF/APPLICANT

DENNIS OSEI ANTWI FOR THE DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT

[2019]DLHC6879
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ERIC AMANKWAH<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>AHOMKA BEVERAGES LIMITED<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT, KUMASI]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

SUIT
NO. OCC/96/2019&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 16TH
MAY, 2019<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>EBENEZER
ADJEI BEDIAKO FOR THE PLAINTIFF/APPLICANT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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DENNIS
OSEI ANTWI FOR THE DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>HIS
LORDSHIP JUSTICE DR. RICHMOND OSEI-HWERE<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
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solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>This
ruling is in respect of an application filed on behalf of the Plaintiff
(hereinafter called the Applicant) praying the Honourable Court for an order of
interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendant (hereinafter called the
Respondent) whether acting by himself, servants, agents, assigns or whosoever
claiming through and from it from doing any or all of the following act(s) that
is:<o:p></o:p>‘a. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; using
the Plaintiff’s brand name, Charlie
Ginger Liqueur εbetu Spirit Drink or his logo, symbols and/or brand
identified that are similar to those of the Plaintiff particularly Charles Ginger Liqueur Wobetu Spirit
Drink or εbetu Spirit Drink;<o:p></o:p>b. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; producing,
stocking, distributing, branding or selling any beverage (alcoholic or
otherwise) by name Charles Ginger
Liqueur Wobetu Spirit Drink’ or any other brand or name that is the
same as, confusingly similar to and passes off as Charlie Ginger Liqueur εbetu Spirit Drink, or εbetu Spirit Drink;<o:p></o:p>c.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; doing
anything that passes off or possibly passes off or confuses the public with
regard to the brand, identity, design and looks of its products on the market
as though the same belong to the Plaintiff; <o:p></o:p>d.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; enabling,
assisting, causing, procuring or authorizing others to do any of the acts
mentioned in (a), (b) and (c) supra with regard to the brand, logo, identity
and appearance of its product as that of the Plaintiff;<o:p></o:p>e.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; doing
anything that has the tendency of unfairly competing against the Plaintiff, his
business, brand or product;<o:p></o:p>f. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; a
further order compelling the Defendant to remove from the channels of trade,
distribution lines, warehouses and lines of business all products misbranded as
Charles Ginger Liqueur Wobetu Spirit
Drinkor εbetu Spirit Drink
as those products breach and their branding breach the laws of Ghana; and <o:p></o:p>g.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; a
further order authorizing the officials of the Food and Drug Authority and or
the Ghana Police Service to seize from all channels of trade, distribution vans
and vehicles all products misbranded as Charles
Ginger Liqueur Wobetu Spirit Drinkor εbetu Spirit Drink as those products breach and their branding
breach the law of Ghana. <o:p></o:p>The
background facts to the application are that on 9th April, 2019, the
Applicant caused a writ of summons and statement of claim to be issued against
the Respondent herein seeking the reliefs endorsed thereon. Thereafter, the
Applicant was granted an Anton Pillar injunction order upon an ex-parte
application on 11th April, 2019. Subsequently, the Applicant herein
has filed the present application praying the court for the grant of an
interlocutory injunction against the Respondent as per the reliefs stated
above.<o:p></o:p>The
grounds of the application are stated in the affidavit in support of the motion
filed on 23rd April, 2019.<o:p></o:p>The
Respondent is opposed to the application and has demonstrated its opposition in
an affidavit in opposition filed on 15th May, 2019.<o:p></o:p>Both
counsel (applicant’s and respondent’s) filed their statements of case on 7th
May, 2019 and 15th May, 2019 respectively. <o:p></o:p>In
his statement of case, counsel for the applicant, first discussed the
procedural law on the grant of interlocutory injunctions. The Applicant’s case
as submitted by his learned counsel is that the injunction order is
necessitated by the need to protect the unregistered trademark, rendered in
common law as passing off. Counsel cited a plethora of authorities including
Reckitt &amp; Colma Products Ltd v Borden Inc. [1990] 1WLR 491 in explanation
of the meaning and the elements of passing off. In the Reckitt case (supra),
Lord Oliver held:<o:p></o:p>“More specifically, it may be
expressed in terms of the elements which plaintiff in such an action (for
passing off) has to prove in order to succeed. These are three in number.
First, he must establish a goodwill or reputation attached to the goods or
services which he supplies in the mind of the purchasing public by associating
with the identifying ‘get up’ (whether it consists simply of a brand name or a
trade description, or the individual features of labelling or packaging) under
which his particular goods or service are offered to the public, such that the
‘get up’ is recognized by the public as distinctive specifically of the
plaintiff’s goods and none other. <o:p></o:p><</main>