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Journalism of Courage
The Delhi High Court recently declared the stylised ‘H’ mark of the French luxury brand Hermes International as a well-known trademark under the Trademarks Act.
A single-judge bench of Justice C Hari Shankar, in its February 8 order, said, “I am satisfied that the criteria enumerated in section 11(6) of the Trade Marks Act, read with Section 11(7), stand satisfied in the present case, so as to justify declaration of the mark as a well-known trade mark within the meaning of Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act 1999”.
The high court passed the order in the plea of Hermes, which specialises in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery and jewellery, against Crimzon Fashion Accessories Private Limited in a trademark infringement in its range of luxury footwear.
Hermes sought the declaration of its mark as a well-known trademark. On December 23, 2022, the high court permanently restrained Crimzon Fashion from using the mark and directed it to remove infringing listings from its website. Whether ‘H’ is a well-known mark, this issue was left undecided.
Appearing for Hermes, advocate Pravin Anand took the court through various documents to show that the mark is eligible to be declared as a well-known trademark. Under the Trademark Act, certain conditions must be met for such a declaration. Anand said that his client has several stores in Delhi and Mumbai, and several fashion magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar had reviewed and recognised his client’s sandals which carried the ‘H’ mark to say that mark had been recognised by a “relevant section of the public” as a result of its promotion.
On the duration and extent of the ‘H’ mark, Anand presented documents to show that French Designer and Creative Director of Hermes Pierre Hardy had coined the H mark and had been in circulation in the market since 1997, and its “Oran Sandals” carried this trademark which had been worn by several celebrities as well. The court was also shown that Hermes had been vigilant in protecting and safeguarding its trade mark rights from misuse by third parties, having instituted proceedings before German courts and obtained a preliminary injunction against several third parties.
Anand also argued that knowledge or recognition of the trade mark must be assessed with respect to a relevant section of the public. Anand submitted, “as the product is specific to the fashion industry”, the material on record indicates that the provisions of the Trademark Act stand satisfied with respect to the prominence of the mark, specifically in the “fashion industry”, and hence it is entitled to be declared as “well-known trademark”.
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