Comparative advertising cannot denigrate a rival brand; interim restraint was granted for prima facie disparagement.

Comparative advertising may include puffery and favourable product comparisons, but it cannot use false, misleading or untruthful statements to denigrate a rival brand. An advertisement describing antiseptic use in a way that, by context and public perception, was prima facie understood as targeting the plaintiff's DETTOL products was held to carry an implied disparaging message. The Court found a prima facie case of disparagement and, on balance of convenience and irreparable injury, granted interim injunction restraining publication of the impugned or similar advertisements against the plaintiff's DETTOL and DETTOL HEALTHY KITCHEN brands.

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Issues: Whether the plaintiff was entitled to an interim injunction restraining the defendant from publishing the impugned advertisement on the ground that it disparaged the plaintiff's brand and product.

Analysis: The governing principles of comparative advertising permit puffery and favourable comparison of one's own product, but do not permit false, misleading or untruthful denigration of a rival product. The impugned advertisement, though couched as a comparative claim, used the expression "harsh antiseptic" and repeatedly linked antiseptic use with cleaning wounds and floors in a manner that was prima facie understood as a reference to the plaintiff's DETTOL products. The surrounding context, public perception of DETTOL as synonymous with antiseptic, and the effect of the advertisement together indicated that the advertisement subtly yet certainly targeted the plaintiff's product and carried an implied denigrating message. The Court found a prima facie case of disparagement and also held that the balance of convenience and irreparable injury favoured the plaintiff.

Conclusion: Interim injunction granted restraining the defendant from publishing the impugned or similar disparaging advertisements against the plaintiff's brand DETTOL and DETTOL HEALTHY KITCHEN.

Ratio Decidendi: Comparative advertising is permissible only so long as it does not, by express or implied reference, denigrate or disparage a rival's product; where the overall effect of the advertisement is prima facie disparaging, interim restraint may be granted.

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