Delhi High Court Urges Nutella to Reuse Seized Jars for CSR

The Delhi High Court has advised Nutella's makers to repurpose over 3.05 lakh seized glass jars for corporate social responsibility by donating them filled with their products to NGOs. The jars, valued at Rs 62.84 lakh, were part of a trademark infringement claim by Ferrero SpA against manufacturers of counterfeit Nutella packaging.

The Delhi High Court has made a significant recommendation to the makers of Nutella, the popular sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. It urged them to consider repurposing over 3.05 lakh seized glass jars by filling them with Nutella products for donation to NGOs as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

The court assessed the value of the seized glass jars at Rs 62.84 lakh and directed the suspects, involved in producing and selling counterfeit Nutella packaging, to hand over these jars to Ferrero SpA, the brand owner. The company is then free to use them as deemed appropriate.

Ferrero SpA had filed a lawsuit claiming infringement of its Nutella trademark. The court also ordered the destruction of other counterfeit packaging materials within four weeks and directed the defendants to pay Rs 10 lakh after they initially resisted the suit filed in 2023.

(With inputs from agencies.)