Delhi High Court grants interim relief to Bulgari in IP suit

The Delhi High Court recently granted interim relief to luxury brand Bulgari in a copyright and trademark infringement suit initiated by it against a designer jewellery store..Justice Sanjeev Narula observed that Bulgari has established a prima facie case in its favour, stating that if no interim injunction is granted, Bulgari will suffer irreparable loss."Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, the Defendant and/or anybody acting on their behalf are restrained from manufacturing, marketing, importing, exporting, using, selling, soliciting, displaying, advertising on the internet through its physical stores, websites, social media pages like Instagram and Facebook and/or by any other mode or manner," the Court ordered..In August 2022, Bulgari discovered that the defendant Amaris substantially replicated the idea, form, manner of depiction, arrangement and expression of all the essential elements of its original artistic work - the Serpenti Ocean Treasure Necklace.Additionally, it was argued that the defendant copied the pattern ornamentation, placement, color combination and overall look, get-up and appearance of the trade dress of the Bulgari SERPENTI collection..It was argued that the defendant’s actions amounted to infringement of the copyright as well as passing off. After the defendant failed to respond to notices sent by Bulgari, the luxury brand moved the High Court..Taking into consideration the facts, the Court noted, "the Defendant’s use of the identical mark “SERPENTI” in respect of identical products would constitute a clear case of infringement under Sections 29(2)(c) read with 29(3) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.".The Court, therefore, restrained the store from infringing on Bulgari's rights until the next date of hearing."Defendant and/or anybody acting on their behalf are restrained from manufacturing, marketing, importing, exporting, using, selling, soliciting, displaying, advertising on the internet through its physical stores, websites, social media pages like Instagram and Facebook and/or by any other mode or manner."The matter will be heard next on September 30.Advocates Bitika Sharma, Rishi Bansal, Anusha Banerjee and Janhvi Badoliya appeared for Bulgari..[Read Order]