Delhi High Court Grants Temporary Relief To Hugo Boss Against Delhi Trader Over Sale Of Alleged Fake Bedding

The Delhi High Court has recently granted temporary relief to Hugo Boss AG in a trademark infringement suit against a Delhi trader operating as Panipat Handlooms.

The court restrained him from manufacturing and selling products such as luxury bedding, linen, and bath towels bearing allegedly infringing BOSS and HUGO BOSS marks.

Justice Jyoti Singh passed the order on May 14 in the suit against Shubham Jain, who operates from Ashok Vihar in Delhi.

Hugo Boss told the court that Jain was manufacturing and selling cheaper replicas of its luxury home textile products under marks identical or deceptively similar to its registered BOSS and HUGO BOSS trademarks. It also alleged that the defendant's inferior-quality goods were harming its brand reputation.

According to the company, Jain was openly advertising these products on YouTube and Instagram. Hugo Boss also alleged that internet and social media searches showed he was using brand names such as Calvin Klein, Coach and Michael Kors.

The court was also told that Jain had filed a trademark application for “HUGO BOSS HOME,” against which objections are pending.

After hearing the company, the court held that Hugo Boss had made out a prima facie case for temporary relief.

“Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff and it is likely to suffer irreparable harm in case the interim injunction, as prayed for, is not granted,” the court said.

The court restrained Jain and others acting on his behalf from manufacturing, marketing, selling, advertising or offering for sale products bearing the impugned marks or any deceptively similar marks.

It also directed Jain to “directed to takedown, remove and delete all advertisements and promotional/marketing content from all platforms/websites/social media platforms, including Instagram and YouTube reflecting use of Plaintiff's registered BOSS marks.””