The Delhi High Court has stayed a previous order directing Amazon to pay ₹340 Cr in damages for allegedly infringing the trademark of luxury lifestyle brand Beverly Hills Polo Club (BHPC).
According to PTI, a division bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Ajay Digpaul noted that there appeared to be no prima facie evidence establishing Amazon’s direct involvement in the alleged infringement. The court stated, “It would be a complete travesty of justice to require the appellant Amazon Tech to deposit, or secure, any part of the amount decreed… in order to maintain its appeal.”
The stay comes in response to a single-judge ruling by Justice Pratibha M Singh in February 2025, which ordered Amazon to pay damages of $39 Mn (approx. ₹340 Cr) to Lifestyle Equities, the parent company of BHPC. The original order included ₹292.7 Cr for lost royalties, ₹43.33 Cr for increased promotional expenses, and an additional ₹3.23 Cr in legal costs.
The division bench further remarked that the earlier findings were too broad and lacked specific attribution of infringement by Amazon. The court observed that the judgment implied Amazon “could infringe” rather than proving that it “did infringe.” The matter will next be heard on October 9, when Amazon’s appeal against the original judgment is scheduled.
The case stems from a 2020 lawsuit by Lifestyle Equities, which accused Amazon and its affiliate Cloudtail of selling products under its private label ‘Symbol’ with a logo allegedly identical to BHPC’s trademarked horse-rider emblem. Lifestyle Equities, which holds the BHPC trademark in over 90 countries, sought ₹1,260 Cr in damages.
Previously, the court had also directed Amazon and Cloudtail to take down the infringing products within 72 hours. Cloudtail admitted to selling the contentious merchandise between 2015 and July 2020.
Amazon has since challenged the single-judge decision, leading to the current stay issued by the division bench.
