The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has issued an order disposing off show cause notices issued to three undertakings for violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010, after accepting their commitments to comply with the provisions of the Competition Act.
The CCP had received a complaint from M/s Atlas Honda Limited alleging that the three undertakings M/s Shafique & Sons, M/s Pak Hero Industries (Pvt.) Limited and M/s United Motors Company had resorted to the fraudulent use of its distinctive and trademarked ‘Wing Device’ logo. The company alleged that its registered logo/trademark was an identity of Honda motorcycles and the action of the undertakings was misleading the customers and was capable of harming the business interest of Atlas Honda Ltd.
An inquiry conducted by the CCP had recommended to issue show cause notices to the undertakings for their prima facie violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act.
A bench of the commission comprising Chairperson Vadiyya Khalil, Office of Fair Trade & Advocacy Member Dr Shahzad Ansar, and Cartels & Trade Abuses and Legal Member Ikramul Haque Qureshi, , heard the case in detail and passed the order.
The bench, while disposing off the show cause notices, accepted the commitments of M/s Shafique & Sons and M/s Pak Hero Industries (Pvt) Limited on condition that their respective brand names ‘Jinan’ and ‘Pak Hero’ will accompany their logos on all their products and promotional materials to avoid likelihood of deception in future. The third company, M/s United Motors Company, was recommended by the CCP to use its brand names ‘Shine Star’ and ‘United Seven Star’ along with its logo on all its products and promotional materials to avoid likelihood of deception.
The bench concluded that none of the undertakings could be held responsible for resorting to fraudulent use of Atlas Honda Ltd’s Wing Device within the meaning of Section 10 (2) (d) of the Competition Act. Furthermore, the use of logos under question did not amount to distribution of false and misleading information, which is capable of harming the business interest of the complainant under Section 10 (2) (a) of the Competition Act.
