Media

In a significant ruling, a Delhi Court recently granted an ex-parte ad interim injunction in favor of Syngenta
Group, a global leader in agro-business, against IndiaMart InterMesh Limited. The injunction Order has
been issued pursuant to a suit filed by Syngenta, alleging that IndiaMart was actively facilitating the sale
of counterfeit and unauthorized crop protection products on its platform, thereby, infringing Syngenta’s
registered trademarks and violating the statutory requirements laid down under the Insecticides Act,
Seeds Act and the Seed Control Order.

Syngenta argued that IndiaMart allowed unauthorized sellers to list and sell counterfeit crop protection
products, including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, seed treatments, and seeds bearing
“SYNGENTA” marks. These products were listed without adhering to any regulatory or statutory
compliance under the Insecticides Act, 1968, the Seeds Act, 1966, the Seed Control Order, 1983, and the
Information Technology Act, 2000.

The Court noted and observed that IndiaMart provided a platform where third-party sellers could select
“SYNGENTA” as a search term/recommended search to describe their counterfeit products from a dropdown menu without verification of the license(s) and Principle Certificate(s) issued by Syngenta in favour
of the alleged Dealer(s)/ Distributor(s)/ Seller(s), in accordance with the provisions of the Insecticides Act,
1968 and the Rules framed thereunder. The Court further held that since the said Dealer(s)/ Distributor(s)/
Seller(s) were not authorized by Syngenta to sell its products, providing SYNGENTA marks as a search
item by Indiamart in a drop down menu and advertising/ selling / offering for sale counterfeit/ infringing/
unauthorized products by such Dealer(s)/ Distributor(s)/ Seller(s) through the website of Indiamart was
clearly unlawful and illegal.

The Court found that Syngenta has made out a prima facie case for trademark infringement and passing
off and was pleased to grant an interim injunction, prohibiting IndiaMart from listing the “SYNGENTA”
trademarks in any search dropdown or facilitating the sale of counterfeit goods bearing these
trademarks. IndiaMart was also directed to immediately take down all infringing listings from its platform,
which contained Syngenta’s trademarks, including those related to products like herbicides, insecticides,
and fungicides.

This Order sets a significant precedent, enabling all Agro-chemical manufacturers to take more stringent
action against unauthorized sellers who are selling their products through e-commerce platforms like
IndiaMart without obtaining requisite licenses and Principal Certificates.

This ruling marks a significant step in enforcement of the intellectual property rights of manufacturers in
digital marketplaces. The ruling further acts as a reminder to hundreds of e-commerce platforms that are
currently active in the Country that they are duty-bound to exercise due-diligence and vigilance at the
time of enrolling third-party sellers.

The case is being handled by our Partner Mr. Ashish Kothari along with Ms. Shivangi Singh, Principal
Associate and Mr. Balasubramanian Ramesh, Senior Associate.