Delhi HC awards costs of Rs 20 lakh to Louis Vuitton in trademark violation case against banned Chinese e-shopping portal

On March 24, the high court had “permanently restrained” Futuretimes Technology and others from manufacturing, selling, and offering for sale directly or indirectly any goods including face masks etc, bearing the registered marks of Louis Vuitton on their web portal ‘www.clubfactory.com‘ or any other portal run by them. Through the same order, the high court had further directed the Ministry of Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications to issue instructions to all internet service providers to block ‘http://www.clubfactory.com‘ so that the same is also not accessible through VPN or other platforms.

Club Factory is a Chinese e-shopping platform that was banned by the Indian government in June 2020.

Louis Vuitton Malletier had moved the high court in a lawsuit claiming that Futuretimes Technology India Private Limited and others were “indulging in the sale of unauthorised products” by having the Louis Vuitton marks sold on http://www.clubfactory.com, thereby violating the Louis Vuitton trademark and various other device marks. The fashion house had also sought an interim order restraining the sale of its products on the Club Factory website.

On November 3, when the matter was called again Louis Vuitton Malletier submitted before a single judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh that “owing to certain sensitivity”, they only wished to press for costs in this matter instead of damages. The fashion house claimed a total cost of Rs. 32,29,416/-. The HC thereafter held, “Considering the facts of this case, costs of Rs. 20,00,000/- are awarded in favour of the Plaintiffs. No other reliefs are pressed by the Plaintiff”.