Birkenstock cracks down on fakes in India, court-ordered factory visits held, sources say
Birkenstock's case is occurring around the same time other shoemakers are in the news in India. Crocs this month secured a court nod to pursue a nine-year-old infringement case, while Prada is facing heat over showcasing sandals similar to ethnic Indian footwear without initially giving credit to India.
Reuters is first to report the Indian case details related to Birkenstock sandals, which have evolved from a counterculture symbol to a trendy fashion item, and are also popular in India.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
The Top 25 Most Beautiful Women In The World
Articles Vally
Undo
In May, Birkenstock filed an infringement lawsuit in the Delhi High Court against four footwear traders, four factories and two unnamed individuals. Its complaint stated an internal investigation found counterfeits were being made in rural areas in and around the tourist hub of
Agra
, and sold locally and exported to other countries.
On May 26, Delhi judge Saurabh Banerjee issued a confidential order that was only made public on the court's website last week. It said 10 local lawyers were appointed as commissioners to visit the suspected factories.
Live Events
The judge said commissioners can "seize, pack and seal the infringing products", and his order included photographs that Birkenstock submitted showing the alleged counterfeit footwear and shoe boxes with the company's branding.
The visits have been completed and reports were submitted confidentially to the judge, the three people familiar with the matter said on Saturday, asking to remain unidentified. The next hearing in the case is set for October 6.
The visits were conducted in Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, and in India's capital New Delhi, the people said, declining to give further details from their inspection.
Birkenstock did not respond to queries from Reuters and its lawyers from Delhi-based law firm Lall and Sethi declined to comment, citing the pending legal case.
In his May order, Banerjee said he reviewed photographs and samples of the alleged counterfeit products in court, and they "seem like a cheap knock off" of Birkenstock products.
"There is all likelihood of the public getting deceived ... The differences, hardly if any, are not something which can be discernable to the naked eyes," he wrote.
Once popular with hippies, tech enthusiasts and medical professionals, Birkenstock gained widespread attention after Australian actress Margot Robbie wore a pair of pink Birkenstocks in the final scene of the 2023 hit movie "Barbie".
In February, a German court said Birkenstock sandals do not qualify as art and are therefore not protected by copyright, dismissing a lawsuit brought by the German company.
In India, Birkenstock footwear for women is priced between $46 and $233.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
11 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Mobile bills may rise further as telcos keep adding subscribers
New Delhi: Mobile tariffs could rise again towards the year-end, by 10-12%, especially for mid-and-higher paying consumers. Sharp rise in active subscribers in May, backed by a fifth straight month of net user additions, has stimulated telecom operators' appetite for a fresh round of tariff hikes, say industry executives and analysts. They, however, cautioned that base plan prices rose 11-23% during the last increase in July 2024 and any further increase could trigger higher subscriber next round could also see the introduction of tiered pricing where data allowances are reduced drastically to incentivise purchasing of more data packs, say experts. May saw a 29-month record surge of 7.4 million active users to nearly 1.08 billion. It marked the fifth straight month of growth in net user additions, rebounding from a cumulative 21 million loss between July-November. Market leader Reliance Jio Infocomm added 5.5 million active subscribers in May, increasing its active user base by 150 bps to 53%. Bharti Airtel added 1.3 million active subscribers, ending the month with a 36% share of active subscribers."The recent record pace of active subscribers additions in May is not just due to the general acceptance of past tariff hikes, but when the necessities-linked secondary SIMs return to the system," an industry executive told ET, asking not to be named, referring to high active user adds in May. With the tariff-centric consolidation now behind, future active user additions will be a function of 5G expansion and its adoption, the executive said. Strong subscriber growth by top operators like Jio creates a favourable environment for future tariff increases, according to brokerage Jefferies. It noted that Vodafone Idea's continued user losses may drive further market share gains for Airtel and Jio, boosting monetisation through tariff adjustments for the two telcos. Future tariff hikes, however, may see a more tiered approach after telcos raised base plans by 11-23% in July 2024, experts said, adding expectations are tempered on the quantum of hikes expected later this said the lower end of the subscriber base is already facing significant stress due to the sharp increase in basic plan prices. Targeting future hikes in middle and upper-level plans will lead to consolidation, instead of attrition, they said. "It is likely that tariffs go up 10-12%...Future hikes are also unlikely to be uniform across all customer segments. There is a strong case for hiking prices primarily for middle and upper-band users," said another telecom industry analyst, requesting anonymity. Differentiated price hikes could see more pricing categories based on data usage, data speeds, or specific timings of high data usage, or even for users who consume very little data, experts said. "We expect Indian telecom industry's revenue growth to remain in double digits over FY25-27, led by tariff hikes and customers upgrading to bundled plans," BNP Paribas said. Top Airtel and Vi executives have also backed a change in the tariff structure. Airtel MD Gopal Vittal, in a recent earnings call, said the current tariff structure is broken, with a 1-size-fits-all pricing model which is not appropriate for user upgradation.
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
Who is Vaibhav Taneja, Indian-origin Tesla CFO declared Treasurer of Elon Musk's party?
Image credits: X Elon Musk , the world's richest man and a former close advisor and ally of the American President Donald Trump has had quite a time paving a lane away from his former supporter and slowly creating a stand against everything he previously sponsored. While he has been vocal on X about the POTUS's actions like the Big Beautiful Bill recently made a big move against him by launching his very own political party- America Party. According to the screenshots of the FEC form viral on social media, the America Party is headquartered at 1 Rocker Road, Hawthorne and Musk's name is mentioned as the single candidate. Under the form, Indian-origin Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja is listed as the treasurer and the custodian of records, with a Texas address being listed as his. Who is Vaibhav Taneja and how is he so close to Musk? Know all about him below! Who is Vaibhav Taneja? Image credits: X Vaibhav Taneja is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tesla. The 47-year-old assumed the role in August 2023 after the departure of Zach Kirkhorn. Taneja joined the company in 2017 through its acquisition of SolarCity, where he was serving in a senior finance role. He began as an Assistant Corporate Controller and rose to the ranks of Corporate Controller, Chief Accounting Officer, and now Chief Financial Officer. Over the years has played an eminent role in its financial operations and accounting. Before SolarCity, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for almost 17 years in both India and the United States. In terms of education, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi in India and qualified in chartered accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 2000 and became a certified public accountant in 2006. Recently, he also came into light due to his viral compensation package of a whopping $139 million in 2024, surpassing top CEOs such as Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai. Much of his package consists of stock options and equity grants which were issued upon his promotion to CFO in August 2023. With over 17 years of experience in technology, retail and telecommunication, Taneja is a master of US GAAP, financial statement audits and SEC filings. He has gradually gained experience through various positions and risen in rank at successful multi-national companies.
The Hindu
19 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Common goals: On India and a five-nation tour
On his way to Brazil to attend the ongoing BRICS summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made back-to-back bilateral visits to Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Argentina. Each stop was with a view to enhancing bilateral cooperation in fields which included some common themes on pharmaceuticals and vaccines, digital technology, food security and critical minerals. In Accra, India-Ghana ties were upgraded to a comprehensive partnership, with discussions on helping Ghana become a 'vaccine hub' for West Africa. In the Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, there was a major MoU on 'Indian pharmacopeia', to improve access to quality and affordable generic medicines from India. In Buenos Aires, President Javier Milei agreed to enhance cooperation on critical minerals as well as Argentina's vast reserves of shale gas and oil, while India pitched its pharma to Argentina. The three stops were in countries of the 'developing world' or the Global South, and the onward journey to Brazil, and then to Namibia, also highlight India's commitment to building alternative economic mechanisms to the 'developed world' or Global North. India's offer of cooperation for low-cost solutions to global challenges includes the promotion of India-led international organisations such as the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to these countries. Mr. Modi also made his signature pitch to the Indian diaspora — his speech in the Port of Spain, where Indian labour was brought by British colonial ventures since 1845, is one to note. Referring to the Indian ancestry of President Christine Carla Kangaloo and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Mr. Modi said that the 35 million Indian diaspora worldwide were India's 'pride'. It is also impossible to escape the deep connections between India and the five nations in terms of political history. Each country shares a bond — colonies that suffered under British, Spanish, Portuguese and German forces — and why some of them joined the Non-Aligned Movement. They have all, at various points, committed to building South-South cooperation, and India and Brazil's role in founding the BRIC mechanism, along with Russia and China, and IBSA with South Africa, was an outcome, strongly pitching the interests of the Global South. None of the countries on the tour can be called 'anti-West', and New Delhi has had some differences with them over specific conflicts (Ukraine and Gaza). The motivating force behind the ties, however, and consequently Mr. Modi's nine-day itinerary, is more about a common desire to look beyond the present global order to one that is more equal, representative, and sensitive to the needs of developing and under-developed nations.
