BY INNOCENT ANABA

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Wednesday, awarded the sum ofNl.2 billion as damages against multi-national pharmaceutical firm, Glaxosmithkline PIc, GSK, for trademark infringement in a suit that lasted 16 years.

In his judgment in the suit by a Nigerian company, Continental Pharmaceutical Limited, CPL, trial judge, Justice James Tsoho, dismissed GSK’s counterclaims, and awarded another N150,000 against defendants, as exemplary cost, following the application by the plaintiffs counsel, that they had appeared in the matter over 50 times.

In the judgment that lasted over three hours, the court awarded the sum ofN1.2 billion as damages in favour of CPL, split into N500million and N700 million, several and jointly. The court, meanwhile, refused the plaintiff’s relief, seeking a N1,000 per printed copy cost on the proceeds of the infringed trademarks prescribed under section 20(1) of the Copyright Act, CAP of the Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 on the ground that, it was not applicable to civil cases.

Justice Tsoho held that the plaintiffs 40551 trade mark and device was valid and subsisting and therefore the counter claims fail and that the defendants infringed on the plaintiff s trademark.

According to the court, the defendants illegally adopted the plaintiffs trademark to deceive the buying public in an attempt to pass off their Panadol as the plaintiffs product.

Describing the defendants’ argument regarding the copyright’s idea and ownership as inconsistent, the judge said, it was wrong for the defendants to assume that the ownership of copyright between an employee and employer can be the same.

Defendants in the suit were Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc, Smithkline Beecham Plc and Glaxogroup Limited.

The plaintiff had asked the court to declare that its “registered trademark, RTM 40551 is valid and subsisting and had been infringed by the defendants.”

CPL had also prayed the court to declare that the plaintiff “is the original author, inventor, designer and creator of the Artistic work of the Registered Trade mark RTM 40551, its packaging, logo, get-up, colour scheme, and all physical/visual attributes and characteristics and therefore entitled to be adjudged the owner of the Copyright thereof.