Court has issued an interim order to Nile Batteries Limited (NBL), a battery manufacturing company that was recently opened by President Yoweri Museveni in Jinja to temporarily restrain from dealing with batteries marked NBL on claims that they infringe on a trademark registered and owned by Uganda Batteries Limited (UBL).
The order that was signed by Lady Justice Anna B. Mugenyi, restrains Nile Batteries Limited from continuing to manufacture, produce, sell and distribute the said batteries and warranty cards until the disposal of the main suit.
“A temporary injunction does issue restraining the respondent [NBL] from dealing with the batteries marked NBL and Nile Batteries warranty cards in any way including continuing to manufacture, produce, sell and distribute the said batteries and warranty cards, products and material until the disposal of the main suit,” the injunction reads in part.
The Court Order follows a complaint by the Industrial Area-based Uganda Batteries Limited who went to court citing imitation of their UBL brand and logo by Nile Batteries Limited.
The order was issued on 03/5/2018 in the presence of Allan Waniala counsel of the Applicant and Jordan Kinyera the Counsel of the Respondent (Nile Batteries Limited).
In a statement released by UBL, Mr Moses Zizinga, the company’s director for marketing, said that early this year, they had noted with concern that NBL, which entered the market last year, was imitating its battery features, which had created confusion in the market.
“The product features are identical to those of UBL in design, shape, logo, and sizes which makes it possible for customers to be duped into buying undesired products,” he said in the statement, noting that UBL had been forced to seek court intervention and a temporal injunction had been issued stopping the production of NBL batteries.
“In light of this … court issued an injunction against NBL. The injunction prohibits NBL from manufacturing, producing, dealing and trading in batteries and products branded NBL as well as using its warranty card,” he said.
Mr Marvin Mulinde, the UBL head of legal affairs, said during a press briefing in Kampala yesterday that NBL had imitated a number of its features, among them a rectangular-like shape in which the UBL initials are inscribed.
A trademark is a distinctive feature that identifies certain goods or services produced by an individual or a company. It may consist of, among others, a word, symbol, design, slogan, logo, sound or smell.
A trademark has to be distinctive, non-descriptive and not likely to cause confusion.
The trademark owner, according to Uganda Registration Services Bureau, has the exclusive rights to prevent others from infringing on it.
