Gucci wins counterfeit dispute at Delhi court
Gucci has secured a win at a court in Delhi, India, which found that its rights had been infringed by manufacturer Shipra Overseas when it used the luxury brand’s logo without permission.
District Judge Bharat Parashar handed down the decision in late August, which was first reported by Bar & Bench on Saturday, September 4.
The Florence-based luxury fashion house had complained in 2019 that the clothing manufacturer owned by Intiyaz Sheikh had infringed on its trademarks and copyright.
Unquestionable evidence
According to Gucci, its India-based representatives had gathered evidence that Sheikh's company was manufacturing, stocking and offering large quantities of counterfeit products including socks and packaging material under its iconic "green and red stripes" logo and mark "Gucci".
In its filing, it requested an injunction against the company from manufacturing, trading, selling, supplying, marketing, offering for sale or deal in any other way under this disputed mark and logo.
In Judge Parasher’s ruling, he barred Sheikh from using the branding on the products and ordered the company to pay damages.
The judge further ordered that all the infringing goods from the premises of the Delhi-based company be relinquished to Gucci and destroyed.
He concluded that there were no grounds to doubt Gucci's claims of infringement and noted that the luxury brand “has acquired very high goodwill, exclusivity, distinctiveness and unique identity with respect to its products”.
"I am left with no doubts whatsoever that the plaintiff (Gucci) has been successful in establishing its case entitling him for grant of a decree of permanent injunction in its favour and against the defendant," the court said in its order.
Drastic changes in India
This ruling is the latest development as IP law in India has undergone a seachange. Historically, a large corporation with strong IP rights would be looked at with a certain degree of scepticism in India, explained Pravin Anand of Anand and Anand in a WIPR article.
“Very often, defendants and the relevant court would both question the allegedly high prices of products or services protected by IP rights. It was a commonly held belief that if one were to permit the sale of cheaper products and services, then it would serve the interests of the public,” he wrote.
He added, however, that IP jurisprudence in India has increasingly steered towards public interest, which has given more impetus to the rights and interests of IP holders.
In June, India-based Tata group won a trademark dispute against e-commerce website 'Tatacliqsmart', after a Delhi court handed down an injunction following a complaint that the site was allegedly infringing the trademarks and copyright of the multinational company.
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