Lush consolidates win against Amazon as court finalizes injunction
The original infringement by Amazon came in the form of a marketing move where the online retail giant had been diverting consumer searches for ‘Lush’ products to those unconnected with the beauty brand.
As the two parties were unable to agree on the form of the injunction, it was left to judge John Baldwin QC to confirm the details; his decision on the scope of the court’s order has dashed Amazon’s hopes of limiting its impact.
A wide-reaching injunction
In finalizing the injunction, Baldwin has come down in favour of Lush in three key areas: the type of injunction; the area to which it applies; and the requirement that Amazon now publicise the ruling on its site.
According to lawyers with legal services providers RPC, Amazon had hoped for the injunction to take a specific form, focusing on only certain instances of the use of the Lush mark.
However, the judge was satisfied that Amazon would be able to meet a general injunction against the use of the Lush brand, rejecting its claim that it would find altering its software to meet this difficult.
Further to that, the order will be effective across the whole European Union, denying Amazon’s request for the scope of the injunction to be limited geographically to the UK.
The global consumer goods retailer will also be required to display a notice of the court ruling on its website.
Unlikely appeal
Baldwin’s decision was framed in strong terms according to lawyers Ben Mark and Paul Joseph from RPC, who note that appealing the decision would be difficult for Amazon.
“The deputy judge refused to grant permission to appeal on the basis that he had simply applied established legal principles to a set of facts,” they note.
In a statement to Cosmetics Design, Lush affirmed that their stance against Amazon’s infringement remains constant: “Our statement on this case continues to be that we will be grateful when they stop using our trademark,” the brand says.
