Amazon loses brand appeal as it 'targets' UK shoppers

Amazon lost an appeal on Wednesday against a ruling that it had infringed UK trademarks by targeting British consumers on its US website, in a potentially significant judgment for other online retailers.

The London Court of Appeal determined in 2022 that the American technology giant had infringed the trademarks. Amazon appealed last year to the UK Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously that its US website was “directed at UK consumers”.

Amazon declined to comment on the “ongoing proceedings.”

Intellectual property lawyers said the ruling could affect all online retailers, who would now have to check that their platforms do not automatically target British consumers.

Amazon was first sued in London by Lifestyle Equities, owner of the UK and European trademarks for the “Beverly Hills Polo Club” brand, in 2019. Its trademarks cover a wide variety of products, including clothing, luggage, watches and perfumes.

Lifestyle Equities said Amazon had infringed its trademarks by selling US-branded products to British consumers through its US website, which Amazon denied.

The Supreme Court said in Wednesday's ruling that Amazon's US website automatically contains boxes that say “Deliver to UK” when it detects that a user resides in the UK.

This meant, the court said, that “Amazon was targeting the UK as a destination for US-branded products”, where the product was marked as available for delivery in the UK.

Lifestyle Equities is entitled to an injunction preventing future violations and potential damages, the court ruled.

Jenna Green, intellectual property (IP) lawyer at Addleshaw Goddard, said online retailers would need to audit their platforms to avoid the risk of infringement.

The ruling means brand owners have “much stronger rights to prevent website operators based outside the UK from targeting UK consumers”, Green added.

Dennis Lee, intellectual property partner at BDB Pitmans, said the ruling could lead to similar lawsuits against other online retailers.

Any website offering shipping to the UK “will now have to make clear that it is not 'targeted' at UK buyers”, it said, or whether it needs to make sure the products do not infringe UK trademarks.