• The Delhi High Court has ordered an Amazon unit to pay $39 million in damages for selling apparel with a logo nearly identical to the Beverly Hills Polo Club trademark.
  • The ruling includes a permanent injunction against Amazon India and follows similar trademark infringement claims in the UK.

An Indian court has directed an Amazon unit to pay $39 million in damages for infringing on the "Beverly Hills Polo Club" (BHPC) trademark. The ruling follows allegations that Amazon India's shopping platform sold apparel with a logo nearly identical to the BHPC horse trademark.

The case was filed in 2020 by Lifestyle Equities, the owner of the BHPC trademark, which claimed that garments bearing a similar logo were being sold at significantly lower prices on Amazon India.

The Delhi High Court ruled that the infringing brand was owned by Amazon Technologies and sold on the e-commerce giant’s Indian website.

Amazon has denied any wrongdoing, but company representatives in both India and the U.S. have not responded to requests for comment on the judgment. The court’s 85-page ruling, which includes photographic comparisons of the T-shirts in question, emphasized that the unauthorized logo was “hardly distinguishable” from the registered BHPC trademark.

“This is likely the highest damages sum awarded in a trademark infringement suit in India,” said Aditya Gupta, a partner at India’s Ira Law.
“It now remains to be seen how this Indian judgment is enforced by the U.S. courts.”

The ruling also referenced Amazon’s past involvement in similar litigation across multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, where Lifestyle Equities had previously accused the company of trademark violations.

In 2019, Lifestyle Equities sued Amazon in London, and in 2023, Amazon lost an appeal against a ruling that it had infringed UK trademarks by targeting British consumers through its U.S. website.

The court issued a permanent injunction against Amazon India, barring further sales of products using the contested branding. The ruling highlights ongoing concerns over trademark protection in India and the liability of e-commerce platforms for third-party listings.

This case is not the first time Amazon has faced scrutiny over its business practices in India. A 2021 Reuters investigation, based on internal company documents, alleged that Amazon had engaged in a systematic campaign to create knockoff products and manipulate search results to boost its private-label brands in the country.

Legal experts view the Delhi High Court’s decision as a significant precedent in India’s trademark enforcement landscape, particularly against multinational corporations. The case’s enforcement in U.S. courts will likely be closely watched by legal and business communities alike.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah