Delhi HC orders Amazon to pay Rs 340 crore for 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' trademark infringement

Amazon

The Delhi High Court on February 26 ordered Amazon to pay $39 million (nearly Rs 340 crore) in damages to Lifestyle Equities for infringing upon its 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' trademark.

The Netherlands-based Lifestyle Equities CV had filed a lawsuit against Amazon and others, alleging that the ecommerce giant infringed upon its registered 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' logo by using a deceptively similar design on apparels and other products sold on its platform.

The Dutch company alleged that Amazon Technologies manufactures and sells products under the brand 'Symbol', which features the infringing mark. It further alleged that Cloudtail India, which used to operate on the Amazon marketplace, was also involved in the sale of such products which infringed upon the trademark, as per a report by Bar and Bench.

Moneycontrol couldn't independently verify the report.

Notably, the Delhi High Court had issued an interim injunction in October 2020, restraining Amazon and others from using the said logo. It had also instructed Amazon Seller Services to remove merchandise with the infringing mark.

Cloudtail India in 2023 announced that it is ready to accept an injunction and sought a settlement with damages. The company acknowledged that it used the infringing mark from 2015 to 2020, and generated a total revenue of Rs 23.92 lakh from that at a profit margin of nearly 20 percent.

While Cloudtail's counsel contended that damages should be wholly its responsibility, Lifestyle stated that both Amazon and Cloudtail should be held accountable, the report said.

The court has also asked Cloudtail to pay Rs 4.78 lakh as damages, representing 20 percent of the revenue it generated by selling products with the infringing mark.

Cloudtail India listed on Amazon as a seller in 2014 and was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prione Business Services, where Amazon owned 49 percent stake. NR Narayana Murthy's Catamaran Ventures held the remaining stake in the company.

Amazon and Catamaran Ventures, however, decided to end their joint venture in 2022 after the All India Online Vendors Association and Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to intervene as they alleged that Amazon was following anti-competitive practices, predatory pricing and provided preferential treatment to the seller.