Delhi HC Orders Amazon To Pay ₹340 Cr To Lifestyle Equities For Trademark Infringement

The Delhi High Court on February 26 ordered E-commerce giant Amazon to pay $39 million (about ₹340 crore) in damages to Lifestyle Equities for infringing on its 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' trademark. As reported by Bar and Bench, a comprehensive copy of the order issued by Justice Prathiba M Singh is awaited.

Trademark infringement case against Amazon

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

The company further alleged that Cloudtail India, which operated on the Amazon marketplace, was also involved in the sale of products infringing upon the trademark.

On October 12, 2020, the Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction, prohibiting Amazon and others from using the infringing logo and calling on Amazon Seller Services to remove the infringing merchandise.

However, any Amazon representative failed to appear in court and was prosecuted ex-parte.

The temporary injunction was thereby confirmed and declared absolute. 

Meanwhile, in 2023, Cloudtail India announced a willingness to accept an injunction and sought a settlement with damages.

The company used the infringing mark from 2015 to July 2020, from which it made a total revenue of ₹23,92,420, with a profit margin of over 20%.

Cloudtail's counsel contended that damages should be its responsibility, as the Amazon Brand License and Distribution Agreement held Cloudtail liable for any breaches.

However, Lifestyle maintained that the infringing mark was not included in its agreement, so, Amazon and Cloudtail both should be held accountable.

Commending Cloudtail's admission of liability, the Court directed that Lifestyle should not be denied the right to pursue damages from Amazon.

The High Court awarded damages of ₹4,78,484 against Cloudtail, which represents 20% of the revenue from infringing products.

Amazon Seller Services was deleted from the array of parties and they agreed to remove any future listings of these products.

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