Asus Is Banned From Selling 'ZenFone' Products In India

Although Asus has long been a big success in India regarding its laptop business, it may now face some barrier blocking their business in India.

Yesterday, the Delhi High Court decided to restrain Asus Technology from selling and advertising any smartphone and accessories under its ZenFone line. That means the company cannot promote or sell anything even with the name Zen or similar word if it doesn’t want to pay massive fines.

The order was given by Justice Manmohan, following a plea from Telecare Network – a commerce portal in Delhi, which was trying to prevent Asus from making money from the ZenFone line because it also has a smartphone series dubbed ‘Zen.’

As claimed by Telecare, the ZenFone brand is deceptively similar to its Zen Mobile and Zen trademarks, which makes customers confused between the names and hurts its income. Telecare registered its brand in 2008 and is protected under the 1999 Trade Marks Act.

As per Asus, the company insisted that its ZenFone name came through Chairman Jonney Shih to resemble the Buddhist philosophy of Zen. The company added that its phones have the Asus branding too, so it’s impossible to mistake between the trademarks. However, the High Court still made the decision.

As a result, the Taiwanese firm cannot sell Zen/ZenFone devices in the country anymore.

Of course, the Taiwanese company will appeal this decision in the coming time; however, there’s no telling how this order will impact on its business in India in terms of revenue, both offline and online.

Asus, or AsusTek Computer Inc, is a multinational company based in Taiwan, which specializes in making computer and phone hardware as well as electronics devices. Its product portfolio includes mobile phones, desktops, netbooks, laptops, networking equipment, Wi-Fi routes, monitors, graphics cards, workstations, and tablet PCs. The company is one of the world’s largest computer vendor by unit sales.