Safiya Malik

The High Court of Judicature at Bombay Single Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan has directed Amazon Seller Services Private Limited to immediately delist all Victorinox-branded products being offered for sale by Gute Reise India Private Limited under the seller’s name 'Gava Retail.' This directive has been issued pending the conduct of arbitration proceedings between Victorinox India Private Limited and Gute Reise India Private Limited. The Court clarified that Gute Reise may continue to use its Amazon account for selling products not associated with the Victorinox brand and that Amazon shall not obstruct such activity.

The directive follows a previous order by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal passed under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which restrained Gute Reise from using any trademarks, trade dress, or goodwill indicators of the Victorinox brand. Despite efforts by Gute Reise to comply with that order, the Petitioner approached the Court on an urgent basis, citing continued online listings on the eve of the Amazon Prime Day Sale. The Court found it appropriate to issue immediate directions to prevent any further listing or sale of Victorinox products under Gute Reise's account.

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The matter arose following disputes between Victorinox India Private Limited and Gute Reise India Private Limited in connection with their dealership arrangement. The Petitioner, Victorinox, alleged that despite termination of the dealership agreement, Respondent No.1, Gute Reise, continued to represent itself as an authorised seller of Victorinox-branded products and continued to offer those products for sale on online platforms, particularly through Amazon under the seller’s name ‘Gava Retail.’

In proceedings before the Arbitral Tribunal, an order dated July 9, 2025, was passed under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. In that order, the Tribunal restrained Gute Reise from "selling, offering for sale, advertising or in any manner dealing with any products bearing the Victorinox brand name, trademarks, trade dress, or any other indicia of Victorinox’s goodwill" and from representing itself as "an authorised dealer, distributor, franchisee, or retailer of Victorinox or its products" through any means, including its website, social media, and physical stores.

Additionally, the Tribunal directed Victorinox to return to Gute Reise by July 23, 2025, the entire stock of products delivered to it under the dealership agreement. The order further stated that Gute Reise would be permitted to deal with the returned stock, but only after investing the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) value of the products in fixed deposits with a nationalised bank. These fixed deposits were to be created jointly in the names of the advocates for both parties, to be managed only with the leave of the Tribunal.

Following this order, Victorinox filed the present petition citing non-compliance, specifically noting that listings of its branded products were still visible on Amazon and that these listings were under the seller account of Gute Reise just ahead of the Amazon Prime Day Sale. The Petitioner moved the High Court seeking immediate action from Amazon to delist such listings and suspend any further sales activity of Victorinox products through Gute Reise's account.

During the hearing, Respondent No.1, Gute Reise, entered appearance and submitted that it had already issued instructions to Amazon, including through written email communication, asking Amazon to refrain from selling Victorinox products. These instructions, according to Gute Reise, also applied to inventory already held at Amazon fulfilment centres.

Victorinox, however, continued to assert that the listings had not been taken down and that the Arbitral Tribunal’s interim order was not being enforced effectively, particularly with the Prime Day sale approaching. The Petitioner urged the Court for immediate relief.

Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan recorded that: "It is the grievance of the Petitioner- Victorinox India Private Limited (‘Victorinox’) that its products are still featured on Respondent No.2-Amazon Seller Services Private Limited (‘Amazon’) as products sold by Respondent No.1 - Gute Reise India Private Limited (‘Gute Reise’)."

The Court noted the sequence of actions taken by the parties, including the arbitral proceedings and compliance efforts. The judge stated: "Taking into account the efforts taken by Gute Reise to comply with the interim order passed by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal, it would be appropriate to grant prayer clause (a) (as moulded below)."

It was recorded that: "Gute Reise has placed on record e-mails written to Amazon, pursuant to the order passed by the Learned Arbitral Tribunal asking Amazon to refrain from selling any products from Gute Reise’s account, including inventory lying at the fulfillment centers and the inventories already in the possession of Amazon."

However, the Court found merit in the Petitioner's urgency, especially in view of the upcoming online sale. The Court further stated: "Learned Counsel for the Victorinox submits that the products are still featured online, and the 'Amazon Prime Day Sale' is scheduled to open tomorrow, based on which, these products will be available for sale despite the Learned Arbitral Tribunal’s order."

Accordingly, the Court accepted the contention that an immediate judicial intervention was warranted.

The Court issued the following direction: "Amazon Seller Services Private Limited shall immediately take down and delist all listings of Victorinox branded products being offered for sale by Gute Reise India Private Limited (under seller name ‘Gava Retail’) pending conduct of the arbitration proceedings."

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Further clarifying the scope of the order, the Court stated: "It is made clear that should Gute Reise be desirous of using its account with Amazon for selling any products other than Victorinox’s branded products, it shall be free to do so, and Amazon shall not stand in the way of Gute Reise selling other products."

The matter was listed for further consideration on July 30, 2025, with the Court directing that all necessary steps pursuant to this order be taken upon availability of a downloaded copy from the Court’s website.

Advocates Representing the Parties:

For the Petitioners: Mr. Samudra Sarangi a/w Mr. Joran Diwan and Ms. Riya Kalra, instructed by Diwan Law Associates and Law Offices of Panag & Babu

For the Respondents: Ms. Kavisha Shah a/w Ms. Shweta More, instructed by India Law Alliance

Case Title: Victorinox India Private Limited v. Gute Reise India Private Limited & Anr.

Case Number: Commercial Arbitration Petition (L) No.21082 of 2025

Bench: Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan