Himachal HC halts sale of 'Old Mist' rum over trademark infringement

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of Mohan Meakin Ltd, the owner of Old Monk/Old Monk Coffee, restraining Eston Roman Brewery & Distillery Pvt. Ltd. from selling its coffee-flavoured rum under the brand name “Old Mist”, citing trademark infringement concerns.

The injunction was issued by Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, who observed that the defendant's product was prima facie substantially similar to the plaintiff’s registered trademark, “Old Monk Coffee”, both in name and appearance. “In these circumstances, if the infringement is allowed to continue, it is likely to cause confusion on the part of the public and the defendant obviously would be in a position to pass off its product as that of the plaintiff,” the court observed.

Mohan Meakin Ltd., owns several breweries across the country, including Himachal Pradesh. The company’s “Old Monk Coffee” trademark was officially registered on June 9, 2022, and is valid until November 22, 2031.

The dispute arose in June 2025, when Mohan Meakin discovered that Eston Roman Brewery & Distillery, a relatively new company incorporated in July 2023, was manufacturing, supplying, and distributing a coffee-flavoured rum under the mark “Old Mist” without any registered trademark.

The plaintiff argued that the name and appearance of “Old Mist” closely mimicked “Old Monk Coffee” and could easily mislead consumers into believing an association between the two brands.

In response, the Court directed the defendant to immediately cease all sales and distribution of the infringing product, Old Mist Coffee Rum, directly or through its representatives, employees, and distributors, until further orders.

Mohan Meakin has been instructed to serve the injunction order along with supporting documents to the defendants, in compliance with Order 39 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC). The matter is now scheduled for its next hearing on September 8, 2025.