Delhi High Court grants relief to Birkenstock in suit to stop circulation of counterfeits

The Delhi High Court recently granted an interim injunction in favour of German footwear company Birkenstock in a suit against infringement of its trademark, copyright and design. [Birkenstock GmbH v. Ashok Kumar(s)/John Doe(s) & Ors]

The Court has restrained Agra-based production units and Indian shopkeepers from manufacturing, selling, distributing and exporting counterfeit Birkenstock products.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee compared the products of the parties and observed,

“The products of the defendants seem like a cheap knock off of the plaintiff’s products. There is hardly any difference inter-se the products of defendants from that of the plaintiff. The differences, hardly/ if any, are not something which can be discernible to the naked eyes."

In March 2025, Birkenstock found from an independent investigation that various production units in Agra and other parts of Uttar Pradesh had been producing and distributing counterfeits of its products bearing the name and trademark.

The Court stated that Birkenstock is not only the prior adopter and prior user of the said marks, but also the registered proprietor thereof. The defendants’ products are identical or deceptively similar to Birkenstock products and are likely to confuse consumers, it said.

“It would not be wrong in saying that prima facie the impugned marks of the defendant nos.2 to 4 are identically/ deceptively similar in all respects to that of the plaintiff’s mark. There is all likelihood of the public getting deceived and confused into thinking that the products of the defendant nos.2 to 4 are in some way associated/ connected with and/ or coming from the house of the plaintiff or that there is some kind of understanding,” the order stated. 

Accordingly, the Court passed an interim injunction restraining the defendants from manufacturing, selling, importing, exporting or distributing Birkenstock counterfeits till the next date of hearing.

Further, the Court also appointed ten local commissioners for the purpose of search and seizure of the counterfeit products. 

Upon request, the Court masked the names of the parties till the submission of the local commissioners’ Reports, after which the names were directed to be unmasked by the Registry. Thereby, the May 26 order was uploaded last week. 

The next date of hearing is on October 6. 

Senior Advocate Chander M Lall with Advocates Raghav Malik, Aastha Kakkar, Lalit Alley, Prashant, Nida Khanam, Ananya Chug and Annanya Mohan appeared for Birkenstock. 

[Read order]