E-commerce Platforms Accountable For Curbing Counterfeits In The Growing Digital Age

The rapid growth of e-commerce has transformed the retail landscape, providing consumers with unparalleled convenience and accessibility. However, this shift to digital platforms has led to certain challenges, like the sale of counterfeit goods, misuse of brands, and issues related to intermediary liability. Indian courts are increasingly examining how traditional principles of trademark and copyright protection apply in an online marketplace that is dominated by algorithms, anonymous sellers, and high-volume listings. The ruling by the Delhi High Court in YMI Ghar Soaps Private Limited vs Ashok Kumar Trading as Bendist Export Hamare Ghar Ka Soaps & Ors. CS(COMM) 849/2025 & I.A. 20090-20094/2025, highlights this judicial trend, emphasising that online platforms cannot remain passive intermediaries and must adopt proactive measures to curb counterfeiting and brand infringement.

In this significant ruling, the Delhi High Court granted sweeping relief to YMI Ghar Soaps Private Limited, popularly known for its premium personal care products sold under the brand “GHAR SOAPS”. The decision, delivered on August 19, 2025, protected the plaintiff's brand identity from rampant counterfeiting and highlighted the continued responsibilities of e-commerce platforms to curb infringement.

Founded in 2019 under the brand and identity ‘GHAR SOAPS', the plaintiff company was incorporated in 2024. GHAR SOAPS has rapidly established itself as a trusted name in India's skincare and personal care sector. The brand is known for its Direct-to-Consumer business, which offers personal care products such as soaps for human use, essential oils, and cosmetics. The product's distinctive packaging, unique artistic elements and packaging strongly resonate with its consumers.

The plaintiff stated that its products have gained significant goodwill through a loyal customer base and revenue. The plaintiff had turnover of Rs. 49.11 Crores for the year 2024-2025, and marketing expenditures exceeded Rs. 11.5 crores. With its business model primarily dependent on digital platforms and direct-to-consumer sales, the Company has invested significantly in branding and online outreach through its e-commerce websites, namely www.gharsoaps.in and www.gharsoaps.shop, as well as through other leading digital channels.

However, the brand's success has also attracted several dishonest counterfeiters. Pursuant to market investigations and test purchases, the plaintiff discovered that multiple unidentified sellers were flooding online marketplaces with counterfeit products with identical packaging and branding as the plaintiff's products. These infringing entities not only used packaging, logos, and artistic layouts deceptively similar to those of plaintiff's but also exploited platform mechanisms to “latch on” to the plaintiff's genuine product listings, by adopting similar stock-keeping units, photographs, and descriptions, misleading consumers to believe that they were purchasing authentic GHAR SOAPS products.

The plaintiff submitted that several defendants had also applied for bogus trademark registrations for marks such as “GHOR SOAP” and “Hamare Ghar Ka Soap” using fictitious addresses. As per the plaintiff, the said applications were filed solely to misuse premium services of e-commerce platforms, such as ‘Sponsored Ads'/'Amazon Ads', ‘Brand Assure', ‘F Assured', and similar schemes. Infringing sellers use registration applications and false GST details to gain visibility and unfair promotion through the said platform's advertising tools, by placing their listings alongside or above the plaintiff's genuine products. This results in direct, unfair competition and harms the plaintiff's lawful business.

The plaintiff also contended that the schemes, such as ‘Brand Registry' and ‘Brand Assure', though designed as commercial marketing tools to generate revenue for e-commerce platforms, were being misused by counterfeiters and facilitating infringement, unfair competition, and consumer deception, thus securing greater visibility for their counterfeit products while leveraging the goodwill of the GHAR SOAPS brand.

The plaintiff accused numerous online e-commerce platforms of contributing to consumer deception. The Plaintiff argued that these platforms are not merely passive intermediaries, but they were actively facilitating infringement by allowing infringing sellers to “latch on” to genuine listings and failing to act swiftly on infringement complaints. The plaintiff stated that, despite YMI's enrolment in brand registry programs of these online platforms, its takedown requests were either rejected or only partially addressed. In some instances, removed infringing listings reappeared almost immediately through other seller accounts using masked identities, rendering the plaintiff's enforcement efforts ineffective.

In its defence, Amazon argued that the practice of “latching on” is a by-product of its automated algorithms and does not involve active intervention. However, it agreed to remove the infringing listings identified in the plaint. The plaintiff, on the other hand, contended that such practices diminish consumer trust and directly harm the reputation and sales of legitimate brands.

After examining the evidence, the Delhi High Court recognised the substantial goodwill created and enjoyed by YMI Ghar Soaps. The Court noted that the brand's identity, packaging, and artistic works are distinctive and closely associated with its products. The Court held that the counterfeit products being sold under deceptively similar branding were likely to confuse unaware consumers, thereby constituting trademark infringement, copyright violations, and passing off.

Hence, in its order, the Court restrained the infringing defendants from using the plaintiff's trademarks, packaging, or any deceptively similar marks and directed Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho to immediately block and suspend all infringing listings and blacklist the counterfeit sellers involved. Significantly, the Court ordered that all future takedown requests from YMI must be processed within 48 hours to ensure swift protection for the plaintiff's intellectual property. Additionally, the Court instructed the platforms to deactivate algorithms that falsely linked unrelated products, to prevent the misrepresentation of non-related goods as GHAR SOAPS products.

The Court also restrained the defendants from copying, reproducing, adopting and/ or using the plaintiff's copyright works or any other artwork, unique packaging, marketing creatives, taglines or other such original literary or artistic material which work or material is a substantial imitation of the plaintiff's said copyright works; packaging, trade dress, get-up, colour combination, layout, artwork, or branding that is a colourable imitation or reproduction of the plaintiff's proprietary packaging and artistic works.

The decision marks a landmark change in the digital intellectual property enforcement landscape in India, highlighting the Court's recognition of the unique challenges posed by online marketplaces, where algorithms, seller anonymity, and rapid product turnover often complicate efforts to combat counterfeiting. The Court's proactive approach effectively shifts part of the responsibility for brand protection onto e-commerce platforms, asking them to uphold a higher standard of accountability.

For direct-to-consumer brands like YMI Ghar Soaps, the Court's judgment offers both relief and empowerment. By allowing the company to directly approach platforms for future takedowns without seeking court intervention each time, the Court has streamlined enforcement and equipped brands with faster tools to combat counterfeiting. At the same time, it sends a strong message to digital marketplaces that they cannot be safe havens for counterfeiters and must adopt robust measures to safeguard consumer trust and brand integrity.

In today's world, where e-commerce dominates and retail and consumers increasingly rely on online platforms for everyday purchases, this decision is likely to shape the future of platform liability and intellectual property enforcement in India. It signals a judicial shift toward shared responsibility between rights holders and intermediaries, ensuring that innovation and brand-building are adequately protected in the digital economy.

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