The Delhi High Court stayed a single judge order directing Amazon Technologies to pay $39 million (about Rs 340 crore) in damages to Lifestyle Equities CV for alleged trademark infringement of its “Beverly Hills Polo Club” brand, reported Bar and Bench.
A division bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Ajay Digpal granted the interim relief and clarified that Amazon will not have to make any pre-deposit in lieu of the relief. According to the report, the detailed order of the court is awaited.
The dispute is linked to a lawsuit filed in 2020 in which Lifestyle Equities had accused Amazon and others of selling products under Amazon’s private label “Symbol” that used an image similar to its trademark. Cloudtail India, which was then an Amazon seller, was also named in the case.
Initially, the court restrained Amazon and its partners from using the alleged mark and ordered the removal of the relevant listings. The case was heard ex-parte in the absence of Amazon Technologies.
Cloudtail later admitted to using the mark from 2015 to July 2020, earning Rs 23 lakh, including 20% profit. They tried to settle, but mediation was not successful.
The court imposed a cost of Rs 4.78 lakh on Cloudtail and also held Amazon responsible, saying it had a close business relationship with Cloudtail. The terms of the Brand License and Distribution Agreement proved Amazon’s direct involvement, rejecting its plea of being an “impartial arbitrator”.
The single judge had awarded Lifestyle Equities $5 million in brand damages and $33.78 million in royalty losses, taking the total amount to around Rs 340 crore.
