Delhi High Court Orders Amazon to Compensate Lifestyle Equities $39 Million in Landmark Trademark Infringement Ruling

The Delhi High Court recently ruled in favor of Lifestyle Equities CV, awarding it $39 million (around Rs 340 crore) after finding that Amazon Technologies violated its Beverly Hills Polo Club trademark. This decision is a significant win for Lifestyle Equities, especially after a long legal battle that began in 2020.

The case started when Lifestyle Equities accused Amazon of making and selling products under the brand “Symbol,” which it claimed closely resembled its trademark. The lawsuit also included Cloudtail India, a major seller on Amazon.in, which was accused of helping sell these infringing products.

In October 2020, the Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction, preventing Amazon and Cloudtail from using the disputed logo. The court also directed Amazon Seller Services to remove the infringing products from its website. Despite these orders, Amazon Technologies did not appear in court, leading to proceedings being held without its input.

Cloudtail later admitted to selling these infringing items from 2015 until mid-2020, reporting a total revenue of around Rs 23,92,420, with a profit margin of about 20%. Its legal team argued that only Cloudtail should be held liable for damages, pointing to an agreement that placed responsibility for breaches on Cloudtail. However, Lifestyle Equities insisted that both companies should be held accountable, emphasizing that the infringing mark wasn’t part of the agreement cited by Cloudtail.

The court acknowledged Cloudtail’s admission of liability and ruled that Lifestyle Equities could seek damages from Amazon as well. Ultimately, the court granted the suit in favor of Lifestyle Equities, ordering Cloudtail to pay ₹4,78,484 in damages, which represented 20% of its revenue from the infringing products.

Amazon Seller Services was found to have complied with the earlier court orders regarding the removal of the infringing products, showing that they took steps to adhere to the legal directives.

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