Delhi High Court Directs Amazon To Pay $39 Million For Using Beverly Hills Polo Club's Logo

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed Amazon Technologies to pay around $39 million for infringing upon the Beverly Hills Polo Club trademark.

The single judge bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh observed that the e-commerce giant was using the Polo club's horse rider logo on the garments sold on its own website.

The court found that the horse-rider logo was a prominent and recognisable feature of the Polo Club brand, which had been registered and used in India since 2007. The infringing products, sold under Amazon’s 'Symbol' brand, were priced as low as Rs 375, whereas Polo-branded apparel typically retailed for Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,500.

The court noted that this deep discounting strategy diluted the brand’s exclusivity and misled consumers.

An ad-interim injunction or a temporary restriction was first issued against the e-commerce giant Amazon, on Oct. 12, 2020, restraining Amazon and Cloudtail from using the infringing logo. Amazon Technologies Inc. failed to appear in court, leading to an ex-parte ruling against it. Thereafter, on Mar 2, 2023, the court also decreed the suit against Cloudtail.

"The consequences of online infringement which the Defendants have indulged in, is in the opinion of this Court totally immeasurable," the high court noted in its 85-page judgement document.

Making further observations about the magnitude of unfair gains by using the logo, the court mentioned that, "the erosion of the brand value and the unseen profits that the Defendants may have earned due to their own sales under the brand SYMBOL and other competitors of the Plaintiff, who also sought to benefit due to the present infringement would in the opinion of this Court also entitle the Plaintiffs to punitive damages."

"However, since the said figures are not available, the Court merely restricts its inquiry based on the exhibited documents on record i.e., the Trademark Licensing Agreement," the court order further read.