Zino Davidoff S.A., a Swiss company founded in 1984 owning registered trademarks 'DAVIDOFF', 'DAVIDOFF COOL WATER', 'COOL WATER', 'HOT WATER' and distinctive trade dresses for perfumes with global sales including India since 1997, discovered in 2025 that defendant Ala Mode Ecommerce LLP was operating website antibrnd.in selling cheaper imitation perfumes under deceptively similar marks 'COOL WATER PARFUM', 'HOT WATER PARFUM' and near-identical trade dresses to mislead consumers by associating with plaintiff's products; filed commercial suit for injunction against infringement, passing off, copyright violation, damages; court granted procedural exemptions from filing legible documents, pre-institution mediation due to urgency citing Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Krithi, extension for court fees, permission for additional documents; registered plaint as suit, issued summons with 30-day written statement deadline and admission/denial affidavits; on ex-parte interim application, found plaintiff's long use established goodwill, defendants' adoption dishonest creating confusion/deception for identical goods, prima facie case with irreparable harm and balance favoring plaintiff; granted ad-interim injunction restraining defendants from using impugned marks/dresses, directed domain registrar to disclose subscriber info in sealed cover, compliance under Order XXXIX Rule 3 CPC, listed for further proceedings.
- Exemption from mandatory pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of Commercial Courts Act, 2015, permissible where suit contemplates urgent interim relief: Zino Davidoff S.A vs Ala Mode Ecommerce Llp & Anr, Para 4.
- Ex-parte ad-interim injunction under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 CPC granted upon prima facie dishonest adoption of deceptively similar marks and trade dresses for identical goods causing confusion and irreparable harm to goodwill: Zino Davidoff S.A vs Ala Mode Ecommerce Llp & Anr, Para 22-24.
Case Title: Zino Davidoff S.A Vs Ala Mode Ecommerce Llp :22.12.2025:CS(COMM) 1397/2025: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tejas Karia
[Readers are advised not to treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain errors in perception, interpretation, and presentation]
[Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi]
