Urban Company takes Kent RO to court over ads targeting Native purifier claims

The dispute covers Urban Company’s Native M0, M1, M2, M1 Pro and M2 Pro purifiers

by e4m Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2026 10:53 AM | 2 min read

Urban Company has filed a defamation and product disparagement suit against Kent RO Systems in the Delhi High Court, alleging false and misleading claims in Kent's advertising campaign targeting its Native water purifiers.
The lawsuit, filed on August 11, claims that Kent's advertisements mischaracterized Urban Company's two-year filter life and no-servicing proposition as a "marketing gimmick" and suggested that using Native purifiers is "unsafe" and "risky."
Following a court hearing on August 12, Kent RO agreed to remove the disputed advertisements and refrain from making similar claims for 15 days, with the court's order published on August 22.
This dispute highlights the competitive landscape in the consumer durables market, where brands are increasingly engaging in comparative advertising, and it occurs amid ongoing legal battles between the two companies, including a patent infringement suit filed by Kent RO against Urban Company.

Urban Company has taken rival water purifier brand Kent RO Systems to the Delhi High Court over an advertising campaign targeting its Native water purifiers, alleging that the campaign made false and misleading claims about the products.

According to media reports and Urban Company’s regulatory filing, the company filed a defamation and product disparagement suit against Kent RO on August 11, alleging that a campaign spanning advertisements and influencer-led social media content targeted the two-year filter life and two-year no-servicing proposition of its Native range.

The dispute covers Urban Company’s Native M0, M1, M2, M1 Pro and M2 Pro purifiers. Urban Company alleged that Kent’s advertising characterised the two-year filter and service-life proposition as a “marketing gimmick” and claimed that using the Native purifiers was “unsafe” and “risky” for consumers.

The matter was heard by the Delhi High Court on August 12. Following the hearing, Kent RO agreed to pull down the advertisements and social media content that were part of the dispute. It also undertook not to run further promotional content making the same or similar claims about water purifiers offering a two-year filter life or two-year no-servicing feature in a manner that disparages Urban Company, according to reports.

Kent has been asked to remove the disputed advertisements and social media content within 15 days from August 12. While the order was passed on August 12, it was uploaded on the Delhi High Court’s website on August 22, Urban Company said in its filing.

The development puts the spotlight on the increasingly aggressive use of comparative advertising in the consumer durables category, where brands are competing not just on product performance and price, but also on claims around maintenance, filter replacement and ownership costs.

For Urban Company, the two-year filter life and no-servicing proposition is a key part of the Native brand’s positioning. Kent’s campaign directly challenged that proposition, turning what would ordinarily be a product-level comparison into a dispute over how far a brand can go while making claims about a competitor’s offering.

The advertising dispute is also unfolding against the backdrop of a wider legal battle between the two companies. Kent RO has separately filed a patent infringement suit against Urban Company, while Urban Company has filed a counterclaim against Kent’s patent and a separate suit alleging tortious interference. These matters remain sub judice, according to the company’s filing.