Delhi High Court orders Amazon to pay $39M to Lifestyle Equities for trademark infringement

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted Lifestyle Equities damages of $39 million (approximately ₹340 crore) after finding that Amazon infringed upon its ‘Beverly Hills Polo Club’ Trademark. .The judgment was passed by Justice Prathiba M Singh..In 2020, Lifestyle Equities CV filed a trademark infringement suit against Amazon Technologies and others 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.Specifically, it was claimed that Amazon Technologies is manufacturing and selling products under the brand "Symbol" with the infringing mark, and that Cloudtail India, operating on the Amazon.in marketplace, is also involved in the sale of these infringing products..The High Court initially 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. In 2023, Cloudtail India expressed willingness to accept a decree of injunction and proposed a settlement involving damages, leading to unsuccessful mediation. Cloudtail acknowledged using the infringing mark from 2015 to July 2020, with revenue from infringing products amounting to ₹23,92,420 and a profit margin of approximately 20%..Cloudtail's counsel argued that damages should be solely its responsibility, citing an Amazon Brand License and Distribution Agreement that placed liability on Cloudtail for any breaches. However, Lifestyle contended that the infringing mark was not part of this agreement and that both Amazon and Cloudtail should be held liable. The Court acknowledged Cloudtail's admission of liability but emphasised that Lifestyle could not be denied the opportunity to seek damages from Amazon. Based on the undisputed sales figures provided by Cloudtail, the Court decreed the suit in favour of Lifestyle against Cloudtail, awarding damages of ₹4,78,484, representing 20% of the revenue from infringing products..The Court acknowledged Amazon Seller Services' role as an intermediary and their compliance with its directions. Since no substantive relief was sought against them, and they agreed to remove any future listings of infringing products, they were deleted from the array of parties..Lifestyle Equities CV was represented by Senior Advocate Gaurav Pachnanda, along with a team from Sim and San comprising Advocates Sidhant Goel, Mohit Goel and Deepankar Mishra.