Ecommerce website Flipkart and camera maker Nikon are at loggerheads. The latter had put a statutory warning in its website advising people not to buy its products through online stores, which has consequently provoked Flipkart to file a case in the Karnataka High Court.
Nikon India's caution notice dated June 16, 2014, said ecommerce websites "like Flipkart, Snapdeal are not our authorised partner/dealer" and asked consumers to "check the warranty entitlements while buying from online portals."
"They have singled us out and they cannot make such statements," said a person familiar with Flipkart's case.
"We are selling the same product and therefore, we are asking the high court to restrain Nikon from publishing the statement on their website." The case was filed on August 3 and the next hearing is scheduled on August 21, according to the court's website. Nikon India said it received a letter from an advocate regarding the issue and is studying it. It declined to comment further, saying the matter is sub judice. However, Flipkart didn’t respond to any media query.
"Advisories discouraging customers to buy from online marketplaces like Snapdeal are unwarranted," a spokesperson for the ecommerce company said in an email to the financial daily, adding that they also are "against the principles of free trade and commerce."
Products available on Snapdeal carry the same genuine and legitimate title and hence are eligible for warranty as applicable to any off-line purchases, the Snapdeal spokesperson said.
New Delhi-based Snapdeal had filed a case against kitchen appliance maker Kaff last year for a similar advisory on its website.
Last year, companies, including LG, Lenovo and Toshiba, issued advisories on their websites stating that they had not authorised the sale of their products on online marketplaces.