Delhi High Court orders Amazon, Flipkart to delist products infringing on Reliance and Jio trademarks
The Delhi High Court has directed e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart to delist products that infringe upon the Reliance and Jio trademarks. The order was passed on July 10 by Justice Saurabh Banerjee, restraining the alleged infringers from manufacturing, selling or advertising products with Reliance and Jio trademarks.
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) had approached the High Court alleging infringement of its trademarks on e-commerce platforms. The court said that they cannot use Reliance’s artistic work because the infringing trademarks are portraying a picture that the products have been manufactured by RIL.
“Moreover, the product of defendant nos.1 to 21 are sold through online e-commerce platforms where consumers rely on brand name and logos to identify the origin of goods, in such circumstances, if any confusion between such products, if allowed to continue, could risk consumer safety. Therefore, in such a circumstances, this court has to adopt a more cautious and stringent approach for judging the likelihood of confusion and to exercise greater care,” the court stated.
Justice Banerjee passed the order on a suit filed by RIL alleging that several sellers on e-commerce platforms are selling fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products using the trademarks of Reliance.
It was stated that Reliance is also involved in the FMCG business, selling fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and other everyday groceries through both online and offline channels.
The use of Reliance and Jio trademarks without authorisation is likely to deceive and confuse members of the trade and the public at large, it was stated. The court agreed with RIL’s submissions and passed the injunction order.
Reliance Industries Limited was represented by advocates Ankit Sahni and Kritika Sahni (Partners), Chirag Ahluwalia (Senior Associate), and Mohit Maru (Associate) of Ajay Sahni & Associates.