The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered two individuals to pay ₹9.59 lakh to the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton for selling its counterfeit products. .Justice Amit Bansal passed the order after noting that the defendants blatantly infringed the Louis Vuitton trademarks and this was not a case of innocent adoption. The Court observed that manufacturing and selling of the counterfeit products not only amount to infringement of the registered trademarks but also to passing off the goods of the defendants as that of the plaintiff. The defendants have taken unfair advantage of the reputation and goodwill of the plaintiff’s marks and have also deceived unwary consumers of their association with the plaintiff by dishonestly adopting the plaintiff’s registered marks without any plausible explanation, the Court said.Such acts of the defendants would also lead to dilution of the plaintiff’s marks, the judge underlined. "This Court is convinced that this is a fit case for award of actual costs to the plaintiff. Accordingly, ₹9,59,413/- is awarded to the plaintiff as costs, which shall be paid by the defendants 1 to 3. Costs of ₹3,00,000/- shall be paid by the defendants no. 1 and 2 and costs of ₹6,59,414/- shall be paid by the defendant no.3," the judge ordered. .The Court was dealing with a suit filed by Louis Vuitton seeking relief of permanent injunction to restrain the defendants from infringing its trademarks, passing off their goods as that of the plaintiff’s, dilution and other reliefs.It was stated that during the periodical market surveys in January and February, 2018, the plaintiff found about the infringing and counterfeit activities of the defendants no 1 to 3. Defendant no.1, Santosh was the sole proprietor of the defendant no. 2 entity and defendant no. 3 owned and operated a manufacturing unit.In an order passed on February 23, 2018, the Court had granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of the Louis Vuitton and restrained the defendants from using the trademarks “Louis Vuitton”, “LV” logo, the Toile monogram pattern, the Damier pattern and the LV flower pattern. .The Court noted that though the defendants had entered appearance in the matter earlier, no one appeared for them in the last few hearings.Justice Bansal considered the reports of the local commissioners and noted that the defendants were indulging in manufacturing and sales of counterfeit product. It, therefore, concluded the defendants are liable to pay the damages as well as the costs incurred for the legal fees and the fees of the local commissioner..Advocates Dhruv Anand, Udita Patro, Sampurna Sanyal and Nimrat Singh appeared for the plaintiff. None appeared for the defendants. .[Read Order]
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered two individuals to pay ₹9.59 lakh to the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton for selling its counterfeit products. .Justice Amit Bansal passed the order after noting that the defendants blatantly infringed the Louis Vuitton trademarks and this was not a case of innocent adoption. The Court observed that manufacturing and selling of the counterfeit products not only amount to infringement of the registered trademarks but also to passing off the goods of the defendants as that of the plaintiff. The defendants have taken unfair advantage of the reputation and goodwill of the plaintiff’s marks and have also deceived unwary consumers of their association with the plaintiff by dishonestly adopting the plaintiff’s registered marks without any plausible explanation, the Court said.Such acts of the defendants would also lead to dilution of the plaintiff’s marks, the judge underlined. "This Court is convinced that this is a fit case for award of actual costs to the plaintiff. Accordingly, ₹9,59,413/- is awarded to the plaintiff as costs, which shall be paid by the defendants 1 to 3. Costs of ₹3,00,000/- shall be paid by the defendants no. 1 and 2 and costs of ₹6,59,414/- shall be paid by the defendant no.3," the judge ordered. .The Court was dealing with a suit filed by Louis Vuitton seeking relief of permanent injunction to restrain the defendants from infringing its trademarks, passing off their goods as that of the plaintiff’s, dilution and other reliefs.It was stated that during the periodical market surveys in January and February, 2018, the plaintiff found about the infringing and counterfeit activities of the defendants no 1 to 3. Defendant no.1, Santosh was the sole proprietor of the defendant no. 2 entity and defendant no. 3 owned and operated a manufacturing unit.In an order passed on February 23, 2018, the Court had granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of the Louis Vuitton and restrained the defendants from using the trademarks “Louis Vuitton”, “LV” logo, the Toile monogram pattern, the Damier pattern and the LV flower pattern. .The Court noted that though the defendants had entered appearance in the matter earlier, no one appeared for them in the last few hearings.Justice Bansal considered the reports of the local commissioners and noted that the defendants were indulging in manufacturing and sales of counterfeit product. It, therefore, concluded the defendants are liable to pay the damages as well as the costs incurred for the legal fees and the fees of the local commissioner..Advocates Dhruv Anand, Udita Patro, Sampurna Sanyal and Nimrat Singh appeared for the plaintiff. None appeared for the defendants. .[Read Order]
