In Samsung Electronics Ltd. V. Kapil Wadhwa & Ors?

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. v. Kapil Wadhwa & Ors.

Case:

“In Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. v. Kapil Wadhwa & Ors., the Supreme Court will consider whether the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi was correct in ruling that Kapil Wadhwa (Kapil) should be allowed to purchase In Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. v. Kapil Wadhwa & Ors., the Supreme Court will consider whether the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi was correct in ruling that Kapil Wadhwa (Kapil) should be allowed to purchase Samsung printers from abroad and then import and sell them in India using the SAMSUNG trademark. Kapil argued that the doctrine of trademark exhaustion—which holds that a trademark owner’s right to control the goods bearing its mark becomes exhausted upon first sale of the goods—should apply. But Samsung countered that Kapil was infringing its trademarks because Kapil was reselling the products in another market without Samsung’s permission and because the printers sold by Samsung in India were materially different from those sold in other markets. The Appellate Bench of the High Court of Delhi ruled largely in Kapil’s favor. (Kapil Wadhwa & Ors. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. & Anr., FAO(OS) 93/2012 (Del. A.B. Sept. 7, 2012).) Samsung then appealed to the Supreme Court. printers from abroad and then import and sell them in India using the SAMSUNG trademark. Kapil argued that the doctrine of trademark exhaustion—which holds that a trademark owner’s right to control the goods bearing its mark becomes