Asus should probably stop using the Zenfone name in India. Another company previously had the right to sell phones bearing the Zen name, the Delhi court ruled in a case.
Asus has been given eight weeks by the court to stop using the Zenfone name in India, Bar and Bench reports. Those eight weeks started on May 28, which means that Asus must have stopped using the name in the Indian smartphone market by the end of July. There will be another hearing on the case on July 10, but it is unclear whether the decision can be reversed there.
The plaintiff was Telecare Network India, a company that had previously launched smartphones in the Indian market under the name Zen. The Court with a single judge ruled that Asus is infringing because it concerns a similar name for a similar product that is for sale through similar channels. As a result, according to the judge, it is possible that customers become confused about who the product belongs to.
Asus has been using the name Zenfone for its smartphones for about five years now. The most recent announcement is the Zenfone 6, a smartphone with a flip-up camera system. India is one of the largest markets for smartphones in the world.