Recently, in a suit filed by the firm before the Hon’ble Delhi High Court on behalf of its reputed fashion client, AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC., J. Amit Bansal declared the iconic Flying Eagle Device mark as a well-known trade mark! The well-known declaration took into account the substantial evidence alluding to the continuous and extensive use of the Flying Eagle Device mark worldwide and in India, including trade mark and copyright registrations, commendable sales figures as well as decisions of co-ordinate benches recognizing the fame of the Flying Device mark. The well-known declaration comes as a huge deterrent for infringers seeking to use similar eagle devices even in respect of dissimilar goods/services.
Moreover, given the blatant infringement and the defendant’s non-appearance before court, the court awarded costs and damages to the tune of INR 6,00,000 in AEO’s favour. The suit was filed against an infringer using the Flying Eagle Device mark in relation to news broadcasting services.
Sujata Chaudhri, Urfee Roomi, Deeksha Anand, Janaki Arun, Ritesh Kumar, Jaswant Singh Gusain