Consumer services company platform Urban Company has filed a defamation and disparagement suit against Kent RO Systems over advertisements questioning the safety and performance claims of the former’s Native water purifiers.
In an exchange filing, Urban Company said it filed the suit before the Delhi High Court on August 11, alleging that Kent’s advertising campaign made false and misleading claims concerning the two-year filter life and two-year service life offered with Native water purifiers.
The campaign included advertisements and social media content featuring several influencers, according to the filing.
Kent allegedly described the two-year filter and service life claims as a “marketing gimmick” and suggested that using Native water purifiers was “unsafe” and “risky” for consumers.
The advertisements referred to Urban Company’s Native M0, M1, M2, M1 Pro, and M2 Pro water purifiers.
Urban Company alleged that the campaign disparaged both the company and its Native water purifiers and defamed them.
During a hearing on August 12, Kent told the Delhi HC that it would remove the advertisements covered by the suit and would not run promotional content making the same or similar claims about water purifiers offering a two-year filter life or two-year no-servicing feature if such content disparaged Urban Company.
Kent was asked to remove the advertisements and related social media content within 15 days of the hearing. The court passed its order on August 12, but it was uploaded to its website on August 22, the filing said.
This is not the first legal dispute between Urban Company and Kent. Last year, Kent filed a patent infringement suit alleging that Urban Company’s Native water purifiers infringed its patent and sought a permanent injunction restraining their manufacturing and sale.
Urban Company opposed the allegations and filed a counterclaim challenging the validity of Kent’s patent. The company has also filed a separate suit against Kent alleging tortious interference. Both matters remain sub judice.
Shares of Urban Company were trading 6.53% higher at ₹168.95 on the BSE at 10:40 IST. The company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹26,085 Cr (about $2.7 Bn).
The post Urban Company Sues Kent RO Over Allegedly Disparaging Native Ads appeared first on Inc42 Media.
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