Fine on Amazon India for trademark infringement one of the highest damages awarded
12 March 2025
The Delhi High Court has ordered Amazon India to pay Rs3.4 billion (US$39 million) as a fine for infringing the Beverly Hills Polo Club trademark. The amount in damages is one of the highest awarded in any trademark infringement case in India.
According to Lifestyle Equities, owner of Beverly Hills Polo Club whose trademark is registered in 91 countries, Amazon India had been selling clothing items bearing a similar logo at merely 10 percent of the luxury brand’s actual price.
Aditya Gupta I Partner @ Ira Law, New Delhi
“The decision is a significant milestone in damages jurisprudence and shows that plaintiffs can now realistically expect Indian courts to award large damages sum. It represents a mindset shift in Indian courts who are making nuanced assessments of damages and are willing to go the full distance to compensate plaintiffs for the losses that they incur,” said Aditya Gupta, a partner at Ira Law in New Delhi.
Asked whether he believes the damages awarded were appropriate, Gupta said this must be looked at from two perspectives: quantum and apportionment.
“As far the quantum is concerned, the Court granted damages under two heads, namely, lost royalties and compensation for increased marketing expenditure. It appears that the court did have sufficient evidence to reach the conclusion on the quantum of damages on both these theories of harm, especially since Amazon did not set up a defence and the witnesses were not cross-examined,” said Gupta.
The plaintiff actually claimed four times the awarded amount and succeeded only on two of the six claimed heads.
However, Gupta pointed out that the more interesting question rests on the apportionment of damages among the various Amazon entities which were parties to the suit. He explained: “The plaintiff settled the suit with the seller of the products in India, namely Cloudtail, for damages of approximately US$5,500. While the Court notes that Amazon Technologies Inc. is the licensor of the house brand symbol - which was not the infringing mark in this case - and also takes issue with this entity’s attempt to ‘evade judicial scrutiny,’ it is unclear under which theory of apportionment could Amazon Technologies Inc. be saddled with damages of US$33 million when the plaintiff had chosen to settle the case with the seller of the infringing products for merely US$5,500. In fact, the Indian seller had categorically argued that it was the sole entity responsible for the infringing brand and Amazon Technologies Inc. was not responsible for the same. This issue may get litigated if Amazon Technologies Inc. appeals the verdict or if the plaintiff initiates enforcement proceedings to execute the judgment.”
The ecommerce platform was also ordered to stop selling and advertising products with logos that are similar to that of Beverly Hills Polo Club.
- Espie Angelica A. de Leon
