L’Oréal wins Indian trademark infringement and counterfeiting cases

L’Oréal Groupe has secured a legal victory in India after the Delhi High Court issued a permanent injunction against a fraudulent website that impersonated the global beauty brand.

The ruling prevents the operators of “www.lorealglobal.in” from using L’Oréal’s name, branding, or website design.

The court ruled that nominal costs of ₹100,000 (US$1,166.62) must be paid to L’Oréal within eight weeks. The court also ordered the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) to block any future domain names using “L’Oréal” under the “.in” and “.co.in” extensions.

Justice Mini Pushkarna, in her ruling on the L’Oréal trademark infringement case, says: “The comparison of the plaintiff’s official website ‘www.loreal.com’ with the defendant’s impugned website ‘www.lorealglobal.in’ shows that the defendant has replicated essential features, including the plaintiff’s logos and website layout.”

“The similarity between the two websites is so striking that an average consumer with imperfect recollection would be unable to distinguish between the two,” she adds.

“It appears that the intent behind such imitation is to mislead consumers into believing that the defendant’s website is affiliated with the plaintiff.”

The operators of the fraudulent site had used email addresses resembling those of L’Oréal employees to deceive third parties. They forged documents, including a Goods and Services Tax certificate, a certificate of incorporation, and a canceled cheque — all under L’Oréal India’s name, in an attempt to secure a ₹10,000,000 (US$116,645.60) order from Nicholas Healthcare.

The fraud was exposed when Nicholas Healthcare contacted L’Oréal to confirm the order.

Earlier counterfeit win

This is not the only victory for L’Oréal in India this year. A few weeks earlier, in March, the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of the company in a separate case targeting counterfeit products sold under its brand names.

The case, initially filed in 2021, involved several defendants accused of manufacturing, distributing, and selling fake L’Oréal, Garnier, and Maybelline products.

The Delhi High Court ruled that nominal costs of US$1,166.62 must be paid to L’Oréal within eight weeks.L’Oréal submitted market surveys and forensic reports as evidence of the products’ illegitimacy and argued that the counterfeit goods damaged the brand’s reputation and posed serious health risks due to poor product quality and lack of safety standards.

The court ruled in favor of this argument, granted a permanent injunction, ordered search-and-seizure raids at the defendants’ premises, and awarded L’Oréal ₹1,00,000 (US$1,166.62) in nominal damages.

The defendants’ two main counterarguments were that they were “just distributors” and that L’Oréal’s trademarks were invalid. Given the evidence presented, the court dismissed these arguments as insufficient and declared the activities violated the Trademarks Act of 1999.

L’Oréal UK celebrates gains

While L’Oréal continues to defend its brand in global markets like India, its UK business is celebrating a record turnover in 2024, surpassing £1.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) in annual sales for the first time, according to newly filed accounts with Companies House.

The company attributes its performance to strong consumer demand, stricter cost management, and improved market positioning.

L’Oréal UK reported market share gains across all of the company’s fragrance, hair care, and makeup categories. Online sales grew nearly three times faster than in-store retail, and a dividend of £168.4 million (US$223.06 million) was paid to the parent company.