Justice Amit Bansal passed the order after noting that the defendants blatantly infringed the Louis Vuitton trademarks and this was not a case of innocent adoption.
The Court observed that manufacturing and selling of the counterfeit products not only amount to infringement of the registered trademarks but also to passing off the goods of the defendants as that of the plaintiff.
The defendants have taken unfair advantage of the reputation and goodwill of the plaintiff’s marks and have also deceived unwary consumers of their association with the plaintiff by dishonestly adopting the plaintiff’s registered marks without any plausible explanation, the Court said.
Such acts of the defendants would also lead to dilution of the plaintiff’s marks, the judge underlined.
“This Court is convinced that this is a fit case for award of actual costs to the plaintiff. Accordingly, ₹9,59,413/- is awarded to the plaintiff as costs, which shall be paid by the defendants 1 to 3. Costs of ₹3,00,000/- shall be paid by the defendants no. 1 and 2 and costs of ₹6,59,414/- shall be paid by the defendant no.3,” the judge ordered.
Source: Barandbench
