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Right to Advertise through Comparison with Other Products

Last updated on Aug 23, 2022

The right to advertisement is protected as part of the freedom of speech. However, comparative advertisements, where two or more products are compared to bring out the advantages of the advertisers’ products, have been challenged on grounds of intellectual property and defamation. 

The Delhi High Court faced a challenge to an advertisement for Complan, produced by Heinz in 2019.1 Horlicks Ltd. asked for an injunction on the grounds that it had unfavourably compared Heinz’s products with that of Horlicks, and had also infringed on its (Horlicks’) trademark.

The Delhi High Court observed that the comparison in the advertisement was fair, and advertisements for a product, which depicted a fair comparison with a competitive product, were permissible. It was a protected form of commercial expression under Article 19(1)(a), and could only be restricted by the limitations mentioned under Article 19(2), none of which applied to this case. 

  1. Horlicks Limited v. Heinz India Private Limited, (2019) 256 DLT 468[↩]

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