Amazon India hit with $39 million penalty for apparel trademark violation

.

The Delhi High Court has ruled against Amazon, directing one of its units to pay $39 million, which is over Rs 337 crores, in damages for violating trademark rights.

The lawsuit was filed by Lifestyle Equities, the owner of the Beverly Hills Polo Club (BHPC) horse trademark. It claimed that Amazon India was selling apparel with a similar logo at lower prices.

The court mentioned that stated that the infringing brand belonged to Amazon Technologies and was sold on Amazon India platform.

The court said that Amazon had indulged in deliberate and wilful infringement.

It also mentioned that Amazon runs its apparel trade under the ‘SYMBOL’ brand, and the infringing horse logo was used on ‘Symbol’ branded apparel.

It is pointed out that Amazon is widely recognised as one of the key players in the e-commerce industry. As a result, it has the capacity and resources to utilise its strong presence to promote its own products and also those which it chooses to promote.