Delhi: Adidas fake product manufacturer connects brand name with love for sister

Delhi: Popular apparel brand Adidas was granted relief by a Delhi court in a trademark suit filed against a Delhi-based shop owner, dealing in good having fake 'Adidas' logos.

District Judge Vidya Prakash issued a permanent injunction to restrain the shop owner from using trademarks, Bar and Bench report said.

The company has also been allowed to recover Rs 1 lakh damages from owner of the shop based in Connaught Place.

The shop owner, who is the defendant, Keshav H Tulisani, told the court that the adoption of the 'ADIDAS' trademark was "bonafide and honest".

He also informed the court that the rationale for choosing a mark identical to that of Adidas "is rooted in personal affection."

"Since childhood, Defendant No. 1 (Tulsiani) held a deep admiration for his elder sister, called ‘ADI’ in the Sindhi community. The deep admiration was so profound that he was commonly described as her devotee (‘Das’ in Sindhi). Consequently, the term 'ADIDAS' (to mean devotee of an elder sister) was conceived, combining ‘ADI’ (elder sister) and ‘DAS’ (devotee), to reflect this devotion to his family relationship," they stated.

However, the court was not convinced with this explanation and said that such a defence only undermined the person's claim of honest adoption of the mark.

The court was further informed that both the parties had been engaged in a dispute since 1992 in various forms.

Court Order

"In the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, the court is of the view that the plaintiff (Adidas) has succeeded in proving that the defendant was stocking, distributing and selling goods bearing falsified trademarks and logos of the plaintiff company and therefore, trademarks and copyright of plaintiff company are required to be protected," read the court's July 6 order.

In 2019, the company filed a case after knowing about the shop owner running a business stocking and distributing goods with trademarks that were quite similar to the trademarks of Adidas.

Brand Adidas found that the duplicate products bore the name 'Adidas,' and also had the 3-Strips mark, besides the 'performance logo,' and 'Trefoil,' among others, the report added.

In the court, the company stated that these products were not genuine and were of inferior quality. By selling the fake products, the company said that the Delhi-based shop owner was not just deceiving the public, but also diluting the goodwill and reputation of the company.

Adidas vs ADIDAS

In another case, the Delhi High Court had on July 19 settled a trademark infringement suit that was brought forth by the German sports and apparel wear brand and ordered for permanent injunction against a similarly named company that was trading in various goods.

While hearing the matter, Justice Sanjeev Narula awarded ₹14.22 lakh in damages in favour of Adidas. This included nominal damages worth ₹3 lakh and costs borne by the company in continuing the litigation over the past 13 years, amounting to ₹11.22 lakh, stated a report in The Indian Express.