Delhi High Court Stays ₹340-Crore Damages Order Against Amazon in Trademark Dispute

In a major relief to Amazon Technologies Inc, the Delhi High Court has stayed a previous order that directed the tech giant to pay approximately ₹340 crore (USD 39 million) in damages and costs to luxury lifestyle brand Beverly Hills Polo Club for alleged trademark infringement.

A division bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Ajay Digpaul passed the stay order while hearing Amazon's appeal against a single-judge verdict that found the company guilty of infringing the "Beverly Hills Polo Club" trademark owned by Lifestyle Equities.

The bench observed that the single judge's findings lacked specific evidence directly implicating Amazon Technologies in the alleged infringement. “This is not merely a case in which damages have been awarded against Amazon Tech without any finding... but is, in fact, a case where no such pleadings exist,” the court noted.

The court emphasized that it would be a "complete travesty of justice" to compel Amazon to deposit or secure any part of the ₹340 crore before the final hearing of the appeal, which has been scheduled for October 9.

Lifestyle Equities had filed the trademark infringement case in 2020, alleging that Amazon, through its in-house brand “Symbol,” and sellers like Cloudtail India, sold products bearing deceptively similar marks to its registered "Beverly Hills Polo Club" brand.

The High Court, however, held that there was no prima facie case of Amazon's direct involvement in the alleged infringement and that the previous judgment focused more on the general issue of online trademark violations than on specific actions by Amazon.

The stay order offers temporary reprieve to Amazon as it continues to challenge the ₹340-crore penalty in the ongoing legal battle.