Reliance Industries Limited v. Pawan Kumar Gupta & Ors.

Relevant Acts and provisions

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

Section Order XXXIX Rule 1

Copyright Act, 1957

Section 51

Trade Marks Act, 1999

Section 135Section 29

Provisions considered: Sections 29 and 135 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957, and Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.

Brief facts

Reliance Industries Limited, owner of well-known marks, discovered that fictitious sellers were manufacturing and selling fast-moving consumer goods such as flour and pulses bearing counterfeit packaging on several e-commerce platforms. Since the infringers used fictitious identities and were untraceable, the plaintiff sought an ex parte interim injunction against the sellers and directions to the platforms to delist listings and disclose seller details, along with exemption from pre-institution mediation given the public-health risk of counterfeit food products.

Issues before the Court

1. Is an ex parte interim injunction warranted against anonymous sellers of counterfeit goods bearing deceptively similar marks?
2. Can e-commerce platforms be directed to delist listings and disclose seller details at the interim stage?
3. Does the public-health risk from counterfeit edible products justify exemption from pre-institution mediation?

Court's findings

The Court held that the defendants had copied not merely the plaintiff's word marks but the essential features of its packaging, including the device, colour scheme and layout, in a near-identical form, making it prima facie evident that they intended to pass off their goods as the plaintiff's; the fact that both parties targeted the same consumer base through the same online channels heightened the risk of confusion.

The Court observed that because the impugned goods were edible products intended for human consumption, a more cautious and stringent standard had to be applied in assessing the likelihood of confusion, since even minor confusion could risk consumer safety, and that this consideration also justified exempting the plaintiff from pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.

The Court granted an ex parte interim injunction restraining the identified defendants and any other infringing sellers discovered during the proceedings, and directed the e-commerce platforms to take down the listed infringing listings, remove future listings on notification, and disclose the sellers' contact and banking details.

Decision

Ex parte interim injunction granted against the identified sellers, with e-commerce platforms directed to delist infringing listings and disclose seller details.

Keywords

Dynamic Injunction Online Infringement Passing Off Trade Dress Well-known Trade Mark