Kalid Ahmed Abu Baker Abdullah Baeshen vs Stassen Exports Ltd. & Director General of Intellectual Property of Sri Lanka – SC/APPEAL/155/2012-2024

In the case between M.S. Hebtulabhoy & Co. Ltd. (appellant) and Stassen Exports Ltd. (1st respondent, among others), the Supreme Court addressed whether the appellant’s application to register Trade Mark No. 47706—incorporating an Arabic transliteration of “RABEA”—infringed or was confusingly similar to marks used by the opponent. It was further examined whether the lower courts had misapplied trademark law, particularly regarding translation and transliteration issues, and whether proper consideration was given to the likelihood of public confusion as stipulated by the Intellectual Property Acts. The findings established that the lower courts erred by not properly inspecting the respective marks and by relying on assumptions about their similarities. The Supreme Court set aside the Distri