Delhi high court bars Aqualite from infringing on Relaxo Footwears’ design

In the earlier order, the single judge, citing a market survey report, held that Relaxo’s designs were not original and other products with similar designs were available in the market. The judge also considered the letter by a sales manager of the Chinese manufacturer confirming that the strap was in vogue since many years.

“This court is not persuaded to accept that Aqualite India produced sufficient material for this court to conclude that the subject design is merely a trade variant and indistinguishable from known designs or a combination thereof,” said the bench led by Justice Amit Mahajan. “Aqualite India, its directors, principal officers and servants are restrained from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, advertising, importing, exporting or in any manner dealing with products infringing the subject design till the disposal of the suit,” the bench added.

The conclusion of the single judge is not based on findings that the subject design is indistinguishable from designs that were known at the time of registration, but on a prima facie opinion that products having similar designs are available in the market. Thus the ‘prima facie’ conclusion of the single judge is not well-founded, the bench said.

Relaxo had challenged the single judge order of May 2019 under the Code of Civil procedure after the application by Aqualite India was allowed by the bench. Relaxo is engaged in manufacturing and selling various kinds of footwear since 1976. On 21 June, 2017, Relaxo had registered its design for footwear (slippers) under The Designs Act, and claimed that the design is novel and unique in surface pattern, cuts, ridges, curves, graphics, but did not claim rights to exclusive use of colours or colour combination of the subject design.

The company further claimed that the subject design was originally created with its in-house design team along with a design agency based in the United Kingdom known, as ‘The Footsoldiers’.

It was in 2018, wherein the footwear company took cognizance of the fact that Aqualite was manufacturing and selling the products, which it claims infringed the subject design. Resultantly, it filed a law suit before the Delhi court. The court had then passed an ad interim order, restraining Aqualite from infringing on the subject design of Relaxo.