.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the sixth largest jewellery retailer globally with 317 retail outlets across the Middle East, the Far East, the USA and India, has won a major legal battle against brand impersonation in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The case was filed by the brand against Muhammad Faizan, a Pakistani national, who was operating a jewellery store illegally in the name of Malabar Gold & Diamonds in Islamabad. In addition to using the brand name and other trademarks of Malabar Gold & Diamonds to operate his jewellery store, Faizan also managed social media pages in Pakistan using the brand name, brand ambassadors, and product images of Malabar Gold & Diamonds.
Upon the filing of the civil case by the legal team of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the Pakistani court immediately ordered the takedown of all “Malabar Gold & Diamonds” sign boards and to stop all usage of the brand name and trademarks.
As the accused refused to abide by the court orders, Malabar Gold & Diamonds filed a contempt petition in court, resulting in the accused being arrested, imprisoned, and presented in the court. Since imprisonment was an assured outcome of the civil case, Faizan approached Malabar Gold & Diamonds for a settlement and subsequent agreement to the conditions put forth by the brand. This included the withdrawal of the trademark application filed by the accused for registering ‘Malabar Gold & Diamonds’ under his name, and publishing confession and declaration in all editions of major English and Urdu newspapers chosen by Malabar Gold & Diamonds; all of which Faizan agreed to and complied.
“Ours is a business that has been established on the foundation of trust. The brand value that we have painstakingly built over the years is very dear to us and any attempts to exploit the goodwill and reputation of the brand will be prevented. I sincerely assure our loyal customers that as is evident from this case, Malabar Gold & Diamonds will do all that is possible to prevent and discourage any such activities to protect the trust placed in us by our customers,” commented Malabar Group Chairman, M.P Ahammed.
Any and all signboards carrying the Malabar Gold & Diamonds brand name and other trademark assets have since been removed by Faizan, who has admitted to exploiting Malabar Gold & Diamonds’ global presence and brand recognition to mislead customers into thinking that his jewellery store was an authorised franchisee of Malabar Gold & Diamonds and draw advantage from their misconception.
