Chennai, August 2026: The Madras High Court has restrained Universal Spirits Pvt Ltd from manufacturing, marketing or selling liquor under the brand names “Classic Marco Polo Deluxe Brandy” and “Marco Polo Deluxe XXX Rum,” pending disposal of a commercial suit filed by Empee Distilleries Limited. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu also directed Universal Spirits to submit its manufacturing and sales accounts and hand over all unsold products to Empee Distilleries within four weeks of receiving the order.
The dispute has its roots in the corporate insolvency resolution of Empee Distilleries, which was originally part of the EMPEE Group promoted by M.P. Purushothaman. When Empee Distilleries entered insolvency proceedings in November 2018, SNJ Distillers Private Limited submitted the successful resolution bid, which was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal in January 2020, confirmed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal in August 2020 and subsequently approved by the Supreme Court in November 2020. Under the resolution plan, SNJ Distillers took over Empee Distilleries as a going concern, including all its movable and immovable assets, licences, trademarks and intellectual property.
Among the assets that transferred was the registered “Marco Polo” trade name in Class 33, which had been widely used for Empee Distilleries’ IMFL products and remains valid until May 9, 2036. Universal Spirits, which remained part of the EMPEE Group and did not go through insolvency, subsequently began manufacturing and marketing “Classic Marco Polo Deluxe Brandy” and “Marco Polo Deluxe XXX Rum” through Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited, prompting Empee Distilleries to file the commercial suit alleging trademark infringement.
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Universal Spirits argued that Empee Distilleries had not been using the Marco Polo trademark for over a decade and that there was therefore no likelihood of consumer confusion or deception. The court rejected this argument, noting that Empee Distilleries remained under EMPEE Group management until 2020 and that Universal Spirits had offered no explanation for the discontinuation of the trademark’s use during that period. The court held that discontinuous use within the same group could not be used against the trademark owner when it subsequently complained of infringement.
The court further observed that the EMPEE Group’s common history made consumer confusion particularly likely. Since both companies shared the same group origin and were both marketing IMFL products under the Marco Polo name with minor prefixes and suffixes, consumers would reasonably believe the products came from the same source. “The use of the trade name with prefixes and suffixes for the very same product by the very same Group of Companies would prima facie create a deception in the mind of the consumers that it would be the product of the applicant company,” the court observed.
Applying the principles governing interim injunctions including likelihood of confusion, balance of convenience, irreparable harm and public interest, the court found all factors in favour of Empee Distilleries and granted the injunction. The restraint covers not just the two named brands but also any deceptively similar marks using Marco Polo as a prefix or suffix. A separate injunction was also granted against passing off Universal Spirits’ products as those of Empee Distilleries.
The case is a significant reminder for the Indian spirits industry that trademark rights transfer completely under an insolvency resolution plan, and prior association with a brand within the same group does not grant continuing rights to use that brand after ownership has changed hands through a court-approved process.
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