HIGHLIGHTS
• The Gurgaon-headquartered Snapdeal is the latest in the line of online retailers in India to face flak from brands for selling fake products
• Earlier, US footwear maker Skechers had dragged Flipkart and sellers on its platform to court for allegedly selling counterfeit products. The matter was later settled out-of-court
NEW DELHI: Japanese consumer electronics giant Casio has sued online retailer Snapdeal and sellers on its platform for allegedly selling counterfeit versions of the brand’s products such as watches and calculators. As a result, the Tis Hazari court in the national capital has restrained Snapdeal and the other accused parties from selling, displaying and advertising goods bearing the Casio trademark.
“Casio is extremely sensitive towards protection of its intellectual property rights and has been actively fighting against the counterfeiting menace in India. As part of its anti-counterfeiting strategy and in an endeavour to ensure that its customers are not cheated with fakes, Casio has been fighting unscrupulous traders in local markets in India and has now extended its battle versus fakes on the internet,” said Satoshi Yamazaki, GM at legal department of Casio Computer.
The Gurgaon-headquartered Snapdeal is the latest in the line of online retailers in India to face flak from brands for selling fake products. Earlier, US footwear maker Skechers had dragged Flipkart and sellers on its platform to court for allegedly selling counterfeit products. The matter was later settled out-of-court.
A Snapdeal spokesperson said, “This order has been issued ex-parte and Snapdeal will approach the court for review and modification of the order. In multiple recent cases, broad and sweeping injunctions granted against various marketplaces have, on review, been limited in scope to individual sellers, who may be in breach. A distinction between platforms and sellers is an important one to ensure genuine sellers are not adversely affected due to actions of a few.”