Flipkart and Amazon land in legal soup, sued for copying saree designs

A Surat-based saree manufacturer and retailer called Siddhi Vinayak Knots & Prints has filed cases against e-commerce giants Amazon, Flipkart and their sellers. The case has been filed in the Bombay High Court for allegedly selling its copyrighted-designed sarees. As per the claims, even the photographs used by these companies on their websites are the ones that Siddhi Vinayak got clicked with their model Shreya Sabharwal. These sarees are sold under Laxmipati brand, through outlets and stores owned by the company.

"My allegations are that these companies are infringing upon my copyright and design," Siddhi Vinayak's lawyer Bhushan Mahadik was reported saying. "They are using my original model and images of products but selling fake copies of my products. By doing so, they have caused damage to my reputation and goodwill," he continued.

The reaction from Amazon and Flipkart is far from acceptance, as they claim that they only offer a platform for these sellers.

"We take the issue of fake and counterfeit products being sold on our marketplace by sellers very seriously," an Amazon spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement to ET. "If it is brought to our notice that sellers are using our marketplace platform to sell fake or counterfeit products, we work with the sellers to bring such products down from our website. In case of repeated offenders, we do not hesitate to take strict action and may even go to the extent of delisting them from our marketplace."

"We are investigating this case where two sellers have allegedly been selling counterfeit products of Siddhi Vinayak Knots & Prints and those products have been removed. As a responsible marketplace, we will do our due diligence checks and take the necessary actions," a Flipkart spokesperson told ET.

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