Amazon Off Target As Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal

In an eagerly anticipated decision, yesterday the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Amazon's appeal regarding the marketing and sales of "BEVERLY HILLS POLO CLUB" (BHPC) branded goods via Amazon's US marketplace (see the full judgment here: Lifestyle Equities CV and Anor v Amazon UK Services Ltd and Ors [2024] UKSC 8). A more detailed analysis of the judgment will follow, for now we look at the Supreme Court's key findings on the issue of targeting.

Since trade marks are territorial rights, to establish infringement it is essential to prove that the allegedly infringing sign was used in the relevant territory, such as the UK or EU. In an online context, the use in question does not necessarily involve physical use in a particular territory, such as the UK, therefore the courts use the concept of "targeting" to assess if the allegedly infringing use is sufficiently directed to the relevant territory.