Calcutta High Court Cancels “JAY'S” Trademark, Citing Similarity to PepsiCo's “LAY'S”

The Calcutta High Court has recently ordered the cancellation of the registered trademark “JAY'S”, finding it phonetically identical and deceptively similar to PepsiCo's well-known potato chips brand “LAY'S”.

A single bench of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur passed the order on November 10, 2025, while hearing PepsiCo's application under Sections 47 and 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, seeking the cancellation of the rival mark. The Court noted that Jagdamba Foods, the proprietor of “JAY'S”, was unrepresented despite service of notice.

PepsiCo, a long-standing global manufacturer and distributor of beverages and snack foods, owns several reputed brands, including LAY'S, CHEETOS, PEPSI, 7UP, MOUNTAIN DEW, and KURKURE. The company stated that the LAY'S brand was first adopted in 1938 and that PepsiCo has been selling LAY'S products in India since 1965. PepsiCo also holds registrations for the LAY'S mark in India, including an application made in 1992. 

Through its extensive use, the company argued, the LAY'S mark has become distinctive and is exclusively associated with PepsiCo's products.

PepsiCo discovered in 2015 that Jagdamba Foods had applied for trademark registration of “JAY'S” in Nepal, where the company also conducted its manufacturing activities for its sale in India. 

While considering the cancellation application, the court referred to previous Supreme Court decisions, including Kaviraj Pandit Durga Dutt Sharma v. Navaratna Pharmaceutical Laboratories and K.R. Chinna Krishna Chettiar v. Shri Ambal Co., on deceptive similarity and phonetic resemblance. These rulings emphasized that if the essential features of a mark are adopted by another, even different packaging does not negate infringement