The Delhi High Court has directed Amazon to pay damages of USD 39 million (around Rs 340 crore) to Lifestyle Equities in an infringement suit related to the former’s Beverly Hills Polo Club trademark.
A order was passed by the single-judge Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh on Tuesday.
Lifestyle Equities CV had filed a trademark infringement suit against Amazon Technologies and others in 2020, alleging that they infringed upon its registered Beverly Hills Polo Club logo/device marks by using a deceptively similar mark on apparel and other products sold on their platforms.
The petitioner specifically claimed that Amazon Technologies was manufacturing and selling products under the brand “Symbol” with the infringing mark. It further claimed that Cloudtail India, operating on the Amazon.in marketplace, was also involved in the sale of these infringing products.
The High Court had granted an interim injunction on October 12, 2020, restraining Amazon and others from using the infringing logo and directing Amazon Seller Services to remove the infringing products from their platform.
Subsequently, Amazon Technologies failed to appear in court and was proceeded against ex-parte. The interim injunction was confirmed and made absolute.
Cloudtail India expressed its willingness in 2023 to accept a decree of injunction and proposed a settlement involving damages, leading to unsuccessful mediation. It acknowledged using the infringing mark from 2015 to July 2020, with revenue from infringing products amounting to Rs 23,92,420 and a profit margin of approximately 20 percent.
The Counsel appearing for Cloudtail argued that damages should be solely its responsibility, citing an Amazon Brand Licence and Distribution Agreement that placed liability on Cloudtail for any breaches.
Lifestyle Equities, however, contended that the infringing mark was not part of this agreement, pointing out that both Amazon and Cloudtail should be held liable.
While acknowledging Cloudtail’s admission of liability, the High Court emphasised that Lifestyle could not be denied the opportunity to seek damages from Amazon.
Based on the undisputed sale figures provided by Cloudtail, the Court delivered the verdict in favour of Lifestyle, awarding damages of Rs 4,78,484, representing 20 percent of the revenue from infringing products.
The single-judge Bench further acknowledged Amazon Seller Services’ role as an intermediary and their compliance with its directions.
Since no substantive relief was sought against them, Amazon Seller Services agreed to remove any future listings of infringing products. They were deleted from the array of parties.