Delhi High Court Cracks Down On Counterfeit “Happi Planet” Products, Orders Immediate Takedown Of Online Listings

Delhi High Court Cracks Down On Counterfeit “Happi Planet” Products, Orders Immediate Takedown Of Online Listings

Introduction

The Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Happi Planet Eco Products Private Limited, protecting its trademarks, copyrights and trade dress against large-scale online counterfeiting. The Court found a strong prima facie case of infringement and held that continued sale of counterfeit goods would cause irreparable harm to the plaintiff’s brand and consumers.

The order was passed by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on January 28, 2026, in a commercial intellectual property suit concerning deceptive branding and sale of sub-standard products on major e-commerce platforms.

Factual Background

Happi Planet Eco Products Private Limited operates in the eco-friendly home and personal care segment. The company claimed continuous use of the “Happi Planet” brand since November 1, 2021, followed by its incorporation in January 2022. It markets its products through its own website as well as leading e-commerce platforms and has filed multiple trademark and copyright applications covering its brand name, packaging, and trade dress.

According to the plaintiff, the brand has built significant goodwill through eco-friendly formulations, biodegradable certifications, sustainable packaging, extensive digital promotion, rapid revenue growth, and venture capital funding. Happi Planet alleged that several online sellers were offering counterfeit and sub-standard products using deceptively similar names such as “Happy Planet,” “HappiPlanet,” and close variants, along with copied packaging, colour schemes and visual elements.

The plaintiff further asserted that many of these sellers concealed their identities or used fictitious details, making enforcement difficult without urgent judicial intervention.

Procedural Background

Happi Planet approached the Delhi High Court seeking urgent interim relief against multiple defendants allegedly engaged in trademark infringement, copyright violation, passing off and sale of counterfeit goods through online marketplaces.

The matter was heard ex-parte, considering the urgency and the scale of alleged infringement, and the Court examined samples of the rival products and packaging placed on record by the plaintiff.

Issues

1. Whether Happi Planet had established a prima facie case of trademark infringement, copyright infringement and passing off

2. Whether the balance of convenience lay in favour of granting interim protection

3. Whether irreparable harm would be caused if the sale of alleged counterfeit products was allowed to continue

Contentions of the Parties

The plaintiff contended that it is the owner of registered copyrights in its packaging and trade dress and has pending trademark applications across relevant classes. It argued that the defendants had deliberately adopted deceptively similar branding and packaging to ride on its goodwill and mislead consumers, thereby diluting its brand value and posing health risks due to sub-standard products.

Since the matter was heard ex-parte, no arguments were advanced on behalf of the defendants at this stage.

Reasoning and Analysis

After examining the competing products and packaging, the Court observed that the similarity was striking. It recorded that the artistic work, trade dress and packaging of the rival products were so identical that even the Court took time to distinguish between them.

The Court accepted that Happi Planet had demonstrated ownership of copyright in its packaging and trade dress and had shown sufficient proprietary interest through trademark filings and continuous commercial use. It held that the balance of convenience clearly favoured the plaintiff, as continued sale of counterfeit goods would erode consumer trust, dilute brand goodwill and cause damage that could not be adequately compensated by monetary damages alone.

The Court also took note of the difficulty in enforcement caused by anonymous or fictitious seller identities on online marketplaces, warranting immediate and effective relief.

Decision

The Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining defendants 1 to 7 from using the “Happi Planet” mark or any deceptively similar variation, and from copying or reproducing the plaintiff’s packaging, trade dress or artistic works.

The Court directed major e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and JioMart, to immediately block and take down the infringing listings. The injunction was made dynamic in nature, permitting the plaintiff to directly notify the platforms of new infringing listings for prompt removal without approaching the Court each time.

The platforms were also directed to disclose the Basic Subscriber Information of infringing sellers through compliance affidavits. Notices were issued to all defendants, and timelines were fixed for filing written statements and replies.

In this case the plaintiff was represented by Mr. Chander M. Lall, Senior Advocate alongwith Mr. Subhash Bhutoria, Ms. Anuja Negi, Ms. Annanya Mehan and Mr. Tushar Gulati, Advocates.