Flipkart’s 'Latching-On' Feature Cannot Be Used To Sell Counterfeit Products Or To Mislead Public Regarding Origin Of Product: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court observed that Flipkart’s feature of latching-on cannot be used to either sell counterfeit products or to mislead the gullible public into purchasing products, as emanating from a particular source, when they do not originate from the said source.
The Court was hearing a Suit filed under Section 134 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 and Sections 51 and 55 of the Copyrights Act, 1957 for a permanent and mandatory injunction restraining passing off of trademarks, infringement of copyright, delivery up, damages, rendition of accounts, etc.
The bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna observed, “The feature of latching-on cannot be used to either sell counterfeit products or to mislead the gullible public into purchasing products, as emanating from a particular source, when they do not so originate from the said source.”
Advocate Rishi Bansal appeared for the Appellant and Advocate Sidhartha Chopra appeared for the Respondent.
Brief Facts-
The Plaintiff claimed to operate their business under the trademarks/labels “MAHARAJA” and related trademarks. They submitted that it is protected under both trademark and copyright law. They said that they conduct business through online platforms, including Flipkart and Amazon. However, due to Flipkart's latching-on feature, other sellers have linked to their product listings and sold counterfeit “MAHARAJA” products. The present suit was filed as a result of this practice of the fellow sellers, which the plaintiffs alleged misleads consumers and harms their brand.
The Court said that the sale by defendants, by latching on to the listings of the plaintiffs and selling their products, as emanating from the plaintiffs, cannot be allowed.
The Court further said that Flipkart ought to extend its “brand gating” feature, as per the Flipkart Policies, to the listings of the plaintiff.
The Court directed Flipkart to take steps to not permit any latching-on of unauthorised sellers on the plaintiff’s listings. “Whenever any seller seeks to sell the plaintiff’s products on Flipkart using the latching-on feature, Flipkart would examine the matter, at its level and if any ambiguity arises, it would be free to seek a confirmation from the Plaintiffs, in case they want the said products to be sold.”, the Court said.
Accordingly, the Court disposed of the Suit.
Cause Title: Modern Mold Plast Pvt. Ltd. v. Flipkart Internet pvt. Ltd. (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:7283)
Appearance:
Appellant: Advocates Rishi Bansal, Arpit Singh and Mankaran Singh
Respondent: Advocates Sidharth Chopra, Shilpa Gupta, Surabhi Pande, Naman Tandon and Raghav Goyal