Last month, Flipkart was in the news but for the wrong reason this time and not because of a new sale or a new launch. A customer received a fake JBL speaker and was going to sue the ecommerce giant.
Flipkart is in lawsuit news again with competitors Amazon, eBay and others, for selling replicas of copyrighted sarees. Although the lawsuit was filed in March in the Bombay High Court, it is yet to be considered by a judge about accepting it (as per the court’s website).
The complainant is Shree Meena Creations, Mumbai based, who distributes sarees and other Indian ethnic wear nationally. Top retailers across the country sell the company’s products – like Pothy’s and Kumaran Silks (Chennai based), RS Brothers (Hyderabad based), many dealers in Chandni Chowk (Delhi) and so on.
“We are seeking damages from those e-commerce companies and want them to stop selling our copyrighted products,” said a lawyer representing Shree Meena. “Many of the e-commerce sites are giving platforms for duplicate sarees.” He said the company has copyright of the saree designs being creative work.
Extent of damages being claimed has not been revealed.
All kinds of replicated clothing are sold on ecommerce portals, both on marketplaces and niche stores. Replicas of clothes worn by Bollywood actors and actresses are most in demand.
Replica of Kareena Kapoor’s saree being sold on Craftsvilla
“We take strict action against sellers who attract negative feedback about their service or are found to be engaged in selling products that are fake, in violation of copyright or any other applicable laws of the land,” a Flipkart spokesperson said.
Amazon India also follows similar stringent regulations when it comes to selling fake products on its portal. Any item found to be outside the specified limits is immediately removed. “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,” its spokesperson added.
Shree Meena’s lawyer doesn’t agree that marketplaces are not responsible. “If you see Flipkart or any other site as a shop, I am going to that shop as a customer where I am getting duplicate products,” the lawyer said. “Copyright and trademark laws say if anybody publishing or manufacturing, or if anybody offering to sell, (by copying someone else’s work) it is an offence under both laws. Replica means it is duplicate.”
We all know marketplaces are just platforms for sellers to sell on, they don’t sell anything on their own. Although they keep a check on fake products with guidelines and take strict action for violation, even to the extent of blacklisting the ones selling fake products, are replicated products the fault of marketplaces?
What do you think? How can marketplaces weed out the replica items? More important, should they be blamed? Isn’t it a seller/manufacturer/dealer’s responsibility not to copy designs/products?
After dwindling with her family business, into travel and hospitality, for more than 3 years, Pooja Vishant found her true love in writing. Happy-go-lucky and cheerful, she loves pink; so pink is the way to go if you want to get into her good books. The Associate Editor keeps track of even a leaf that has moved in the ecommerce world!
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