Auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra said in a statement on Saturday that it will contest the lawsuit filed by aviation firm IndiGo in the Delhi High Court over the use of the brand name 'BE 6e'. The company has also decided to drop e from the name of its new SUV, renaming it to 'BE 6'.
The latest development in the high-profile battle for brand rights comes after IndiGo claimed in its lawsuit that it has trademark rights over the use of '6E' as it is used in multiple business activities. IndiGo flights use the 6E callsign.
However, Mahindra contested that the usage of 6e in its EV brand was fundamentally different, eliminating any risk of confusion. The company launched new electric vehicle models in November under the brand names BE 6e and XEV 9e, priced at Rs 18.9 lakh and Rs 21.9 lakh, respectively.
In the statement, the company also criticised the timing of IndiGo's lawsuit. It said, "We also find it unseemly that two large, Indian multinationals should engage in a distracting and unnecessary conflict when in fact we should be championing each other’s growth and expansion."
Mahindra said that the lawsuit needs to be challenged as it can set an unhealthy precedent which in turn can hurt several companies. "We however do believe the claim by IndiGo is baseless and if not challenged, will set an unhealthy precedent of monopolizing alpha-numeric 2-character marks, despite our mark being distinctive and different," the firm noted in its statement.
Battle for Brand Names
There have been several instances where companies have fought over the usage of brand names in India. In the statement, Mahindra noted the case of Tata Motors and IndiGo where the former objected to the name of the airline due to its Tata IndiGo brand.
The carmaker noted that the airline continues to use the name despite the similarity.
However, the airline contends that the '6E' tag is an integral part of its identity and cannot be used by the carmaker. It had earlier said in a statement, "Any unauthorised use of the '6E' mark, whether standalone or in any form, constitutes an infringement of IndiGo’s rights, reputation, and goodwill. IndiGo is committed to taking all necessary and appropriate steps to safeguard its intellectual property and brand identity."
