Coty Inc., an American multinational beauty company founded in 1904 in Paris, owns over 77 world renowned brands including the brand Davidoff. The German arm of Coty recently filed a suit for trademark infringement against Amazon, for stocking its Davidoff perfume for third party sellers, since it is only Coty which holds the license for the brand in EU. The suit was initially filed at the German Courts however was referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The case filed was specifically with respect to ‘Davidoff Hot Water Perfume’, which was listed on the online portal of Amazon. Amazon permits third party sellers to use the product’s listing and distributions services in exchange for fees. Coty argued that it had not given consent for the bottles to be sold in the EU.
Amazon submitted that there are millions of independent sellers who use the Amazon portal, wherein multiple sellers pay a fee to use the platform to sell products, make use of the warehouses and logistics. Amazon further submitted that it strictly acts against infringers and the protection of IP. Amazon further submitted that they have spent over $500M in order to tackle counterfeit goods.
The Court ruled that, Amazon itself does not offer goods for sale or make them available to the market directly, mere ‘storage of goods’ does not amount to trademark infringement.
