CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN SAS Vs. NAKUL BAJAJ & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present suit has been filed by the Plaintiff, who claims to be a manufacturer of luxury shoes. The name of the Plaintiff Company - Christian Louboutin (hereinafter, 'Plaintiff') is based on the name of its founder, namely Mr. Christian Louboutin, a famous designer of high end luxury products. The Plaintiff claims that the name, likeness and photographs of Mr. Louboutin enjoy goodwill and protection under the Trademarks Act, 1999 (hereinafter, 'TM Act'). The products of the Plaintiff are worn and preferred by a large number of celebrities. The Plaintiff claims that it enjoys enormous repute and goodwill in the fashion industry and was rated amongst top 5 prestigious women's luxury shoe brand. The name

(2.) According to the Plaintiff, the Defendants operate a website by the name www.darveys.com (hereinafter, 'Darveys.com'). It is the Plaintiff's allegation that the Defendants, offer for sale and sell various products on their website, bearing the luxury brands/names of the Plaintiff. The Defendants' website contains the complete "Christian Louboutin" product catalogue. The website further claims that the products are 100% authentic.

(3.) As per the plaint, the goods of the Defendants are impaired or are counterfeits. Apart from offering for sale and selling the Plaintiff's products, on the website of the Defendants, the image of the founder of the Plaintiff is also used, and the names "Christian" and "Louboutin" are also used as meta-tags. By using these meta-tags, the defendants attract traffic to their website. According to the Plaintiff, the Defendants' website gives an impression that it is in some manner sponsored, affiliated and approved for sale of a variety of luxury products bearing the mark of the Plaintiff's genuine products. This results in infringement of the trademark rights of the Plaintiff, violation of personality rights of Mr. Christian Louboutin and dissolution of the luxury status enjoyed by their products and brands. This Court had on 26th September, 2014 granted interim relief in the