Several labourers yesterday removed the brand name Lux from over 1,200 gross of soap bars which had been imported from China and falsely bore the trademark belonging to British company Unilever PLC.
The labourers safeguarded the packaging and cartons, which also bore the name Lux and which Unilever took control of. At the end of the exercise at the John Fernandes container terminal, the plain soaps became the property of the importer.
Unilever PLC, owner of the registered trademark Lux, had moved to the court after the container of soap bearing the name Lux arrived in the country from China.
Unilever, which has its offices at Port Sunlight, Wirral, Merseyside, England, presented evidence to the court through local law firm Cameron and Shepherd that the soaps marked Lux in the container were counterfeit and had been shipped from the Chinese port Guangdong.
According to an ex-parte application by way of affidavit, Brand Protection Director of Unilever PLC Nick Hart said that on January 25, the Herm Kiepe, voyage 9 arrived in Guyana from Kingston, Jamaica with a 20-foot container GLDU 2897660 on aboard, along with other things.
Hart said in the affidavit that the container contained 1,266 cartons of soap bearing the word Lux and purporting to be goods manufactured by Unilever.
These cartons, it was said, contained 100-gramme bars at 144 units per carton, with the price on each carton stated as US$19, and with Multi Beverage Company as the consignee of the said goods. Unilever in the affidavit stated that the goods are counterfeit and were not manufactured by the company or any of its subsidiaries and in particular by Unilever China. The total value of the soap was said to be approximately US$24,054.
On February 6, Justice B S Roy, sitting in the Commercial Court had granted an injunction against the importer and defendant Mohamed Niazi Khan, of Multi Beverage Company, located at Cornelia Ida or 46-47 Hadfield Street, preventing him from opening and distributing the contents of the container, which was lodged at John Fernandes Wharf. The injunction restrained the defendant or agents of his from infringing the plaintiff’s registered trademark No. 5463A.
On March 9, Unilever was granted the right to remove its trademark from all of the soaps in the container, in an order signed by Justice Roy.
Speaking at the John Fernandes Container Terminal, where the container had since been lodged, Hart said tests of the soap revealed they were “of very poor quality and do not meet Unilever safety standards.”
Unilever, he said, “was very concerned about counterfeit [products] because not only do they affect (the) local economy but they also can pose serious health and safety issues to our
