Rekha Nath v. Flipkart Internet Private Limited before Hon’ble Saket District Court, CS(COMM) 365/2022
The Plaintiff- Rekha Nath in the above case is a graphic designer/painter who deals in manufacturing and retailing of printed photos, decorative paintings and posters under the trademark “Rainbow arts”. The artistic designs include these paintings and posters that are usually created by hand or using a computer, which involves the consumption of a lot of time, effort, intellectual labour and skill and also requires artistic bent of mind. The goods that are designed and manufactured by Plaintiff are then offered for sale on the online retail market on Flipkart.
Plaintiff’s products quickly became well-known among customers on account of her high standards product quality, stunning illustrations, creative work, and reasonable rates. She consistently receives positive customer feedback, which attests to the high caliber of Plaintiff’s products. On the Flipkart online marketplace, Plaintiff sold 29,200 units of her goods. She was also awarded with ‘Certificates of Achievement’ by Flipkart.
The problem began to unfold when a few other sellers started latching on the Plaintiff’s trademark “Rainbow Arts” and copyright, began selling inferior versions of the same goods made or produced by the plaintiff under her own trademarks from the very same listing as first created by the Plaintiff on Flipkart. As soon as Plaintiff came to know about the violation of her registered trademark she immediately raised concern and confronted Flipkart which is the defendant no 1 in this matter to which Flipkart refused to address the plaintiff’s legitimate complaints.
The Plaintiff filed a suit against Flipkart for allowing others for unjustified use of her trademark “Rainbow Arts”. In this case Plaintiff-Rekha Nath was represented by Sh. Anshuman Upadhyay, Sh. Naseem and Sh. Prashant. Hon’ble Court also held that a prima facie case has been established in her favour. Her trademark and copyright are continuously and routinely violated by the defendants, so the balance of convenience is likewise in her favour. The defendants may inflict irreparable harm to the brand if they are permitted to act in the same way.
The suit at interim stage concluded that all the uncertified sellers who were listing their products under the name of “Rainbow arts” will be revoked from continuing this further and will be restrained from listing on Flipkart that is identical to the brand “Rainbow arts” to prevent any illegal use.
