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Earlier this month, a single judge of HC had restrained Videocon from manufacturing the washing machine, saying that the company had "deceptively imitated" design of the Whirlpool model. Whirlpool had moved the court in this regard.
Videocon then filed an appeal, but division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice N M Jamdar, however, agreed with the order of Justice B R Gavai, and held that Videocon had "indulged in infringement of the design".
"Our first impression, judging by the eye, was that designs are similar, and even an average buyer will feel so. The design registered by Whirlpool, which has a distinctive boat-shape appearance, is found in the washing machine marketed by Videocon," the division bench observed.
Videocon came out with a similar-looking washing machine to take advantage of popularity of the design of Whirlpool machine, the High Court said.
Senior counsel Ravi Kadam, Whirlpool's lawyer, contended that the company designed this washing machine in 2009, with a rectangular shape on one side and a semi-circular shape with jettisoned panel for the knobs on the other.
"Whirlpool has been producing this product since September 2010, and has so far sold machines worth Rs 308 crore. However in June this year, Videocon, its competitor, imitated the design and manufactured its own machines," he said.
Videocon's counsel Virag Tulzapurkar argued that its product had major variations such as colour scheme, composition of lines, pattern and ornamentation.
The bench, however, agreed with Whirlpool's stand.
"A washing machine is quite often sold in large shops or shopping malls where several models of different brands are kept together. If the consumer is attracted by a particular design then he may choose the washing machine with that design irrespective of the brand," the court noted.
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