Zino Davidoff SA v. Bhalani Enterprises & Ors.
Zino Davidoff SA v. Bhalani Enterprises & Ors.
In the High Court of Delhi
CS (Comm) 460/2016
Before Justice Amit Bansal
Decided on January 17, 2023
Relevancy of the Case: Permanent injunction against the defendants for selling counterfeit products on an e-commerce website
Statutes and Provisions Involved
- The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Section 3, 25, 33)
Relevant Facts of the Case
- The plaintiff has used the trade mark “DAVIDOFF” for perfumes and fragrances since 1984 to sell their products in over 100 countries, including India. The plaintiff’s website is available at zinodavidoff.com.
- The first and second defendants sell counterfeit DAVIDOFF products through the third defendant’s website at shopclues.com.
- The plaintiff purchased the product from the website, finding that it does not include the manufacturer’s or distributor’s names, indicating its counterfeit nature.
- On April 30, 2015, the plaintiff sent a cease-and-desist notice to the defendants, asking them to stop selling products bearing their registered mark.
- The first and second defendants never showed up for court proceedings, so the court proceeded ex parte. The third defendant denied its involvement in the infringement activities.
Opinion of the Bench
- The first and second defendants sell counterfeit products to exploit the plaintiff’s reputation and goodwill.
- Their conduct infringes upon the plaintiff’s trade mark and constitutes passing off their goods as the plaintiff’s.
Final Decision
- The court granted a permanent injunction in the plaintiff’s favour.
Aditi Sharma, an undergraduate student at NMIMS School of Law, Indore, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2023.