The Delhi High Court on Tuesday put a hold on an order that required Amazon Technologies Inc to pay approximately Rs 340 crore in damages and costs for alleged trademark infringement involving the luxury lifestyle brand Beverly Hills Polo Club.

The decision of a bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Ajay Digpaul came on the plea against a single judges order directing Amazon Technologies to pay Lifestyle Equities damages of 39 million dollars after finding that Amazon infringed upon its Beverly Hills Polo Club trademark.
Delhi HC Stays Order Against Amazon
The considerations outlined herein above make out in our considered opinion an exceptional case in which it would be a complete travesty of justice to require the appellant Amazon Tech to deposit or secure any part of the amount decreed by the impugned judgment in order to maintain its appeal the bench said on Tuesday.

The court held there was no specific finding by the single judge and that it was largely generalised in nature concentrating on the phenomenon of e-infringement and reflect a view that if Amazon Tech desired it could infringe rather than that it did infringe.

It did not find any prima facie sustainable allegation of involvement by Amazon in any infringement of Lifestyles registered trademark.

This therefore is not merely a case in which damages have been awarded against Amazon Tech without any finding by the learned Single Judge of involvement in the alleged infringing activities but is in fact a case where no such pleadings exist the court said.
What Were Allegations Against Amazon?
In 2020 Lifestyle Equities filed a trademark infringement suit against Amazon Technologies and others alleging that they infringed upon its registered BEVERLY HILLS POLO CLUB logo/device marks by using a deceptively similar mark on apparel and other products sold on their platforms.

It was claimed that Amazon was manufacturing and selling products under the brand Symbol with the infringing mark and that Cloudtail India operating on the Amazon.in marketplace was also involved in the sale of these infringing products.

(With Inputs From PTI)