BVLGARI SPA Vs. SMART COLLECTION & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Plaintiff M/s Bvlgari SPA (hereinafter, "Plaintiff"), is an Italian jewellery and luxury goods company having the trademark "BVLGARI", which is derived from the surname of the company's Greek founder, Sotirios Voulgaris, popularly known as Sotirio Bulgari. Although it started out as a jewellery brand, it is now a luxury brand that produces and markets several product lines including watches, fragrances, accessories and hotels. The Plaintiff's products are said to have achieved global repute and renown. In India, the Plaintiff's mark "BVLGARI" is registered in several classes including class 3 as stated in paragraph 7 of the plaint. It is the case of the Plaintiff that the mark "BVLGARI" is also an essential part of the domain name and website w w w. bvlgari.com.

(2.) The Plaintiff avers that in the last week of April, it came across various counterfeit products with the trademark "BVLGARI" and came to know that the said products are being promoted through various social media platforms and blog posts. Along with the Plaint, various images of products promoted under the mark 'BVLGARI' along with the mark 'Smart COLLECTION' have been placed. The original Plaint impleaded Defendant No.1 as M/s. Smart Collection. Mr. Yasin Sayani original Defendant no.2 claimed that he was the owner of the trade mark 'SMART COLLECTION'.

(3.) The claim of the Plaintiff is that the sale of these products is violative of the Plaintiff's rights in the trade mark 'BVLGARI', and since the products are counterfeit, an injunction is liable to be granted. The Plaintiff also claims that the Defendants are engaged in promotion and advertising of the impugned goods and products bearing the trademark of the Plaintiff through various blogs and social media websites as well. Paragraph 21 of the Plaint reads as under: