The Johannesburg high court has lambasted Bliss Brands after it found it to be in contempt of court for not abiding by rulings that it alter the packaging of its Securex soap, which Colgate-Palmolive SA successfully claimed was similar to its Protex brand.
Judge Bashier Vally found Bliss had not complied with previous orders, with its “new” Securex packaging still strikingly similar to that of Protex.
“I hold that the changes made to the old packaging are insufficient, and as a result, Bliss fails to comply with the Manoim J order. At the same time, Bliss has continued to advertise with the old packaging. Thus, it contravenes the said order. Whether the contravention constitutes contumacious conduct is the issue to which I now focus my attention,” Vally said.
“Unfortunately, disregard of, and disrespect for, orders of a court are not uncommon in our country. This very court — the urgent court — is inundated on a weekly basis by applications for contempt of court. Many of them involve family matters with dire consequences for the party in whose favour the order was granted,”
“The courts in many divisions in the country have also had to deal with applications for contempt of court by organs of the state, or by state officials who have shown complete disrespect, if not disdain, for court orders. This is unacceptable. Courts cannot remain pusillanimous in the face of such an onslaught on their dignity.”
Colgate and Bliss have been engaged in commercial litigation for over four years. Colgate challenged its smaller rival in 2019, after it submitted a complaint with the Advertising Regulatory Board, alleging that Bliss was in breach of the code by exploiting its advertising goodwill and by imitating its Protex packaging.
The directorate of the regulator, responsible for adjudicating complaints in the first instance, found that Bliss had not breached the code in the packaging of its Securex soap.
Colgate then appealed to the advertising appeals committee, which overturned the directorate’s decision. Bliss Brands then lodged an appeal to the final appeal committee, which found in favour of Colgate in a split decision.
The final ruling required Bliss Brands to cease distribution of the offending Securex packaging.
Bliss then took the decision on judicial review, where it also lost.
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