In this landmark case, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) sued Pritamdas Arora, trading as M/s Medserve, for large-scale counterfeiting of its registered medical device trademarks, including SURGICEL, ETHICON, and LIGACLIP. In 2019, counterfeit SURGICEL products were discovered in the United States of America and traced it back through a global supply chain to the entity named Medserve in India. The Plaintiff carried out investigations that revealed Medserve had manufactured, repackaged, and exported counterfeit J&J medical devices to at least nine countries, using third-party manufacturers in Turkey and China. The counterfeit products were found to be non-sterile, inadequately oxidized, and even contaminated, posing grave risks to patient safety. The Delhi High Court appointed Local Commissioners who seized large quantities of counterfeit products from Medserve’s premises. It was also revealed that Medserve had altered expiry dates, used J&J’s trademarks on fake packaging, and attempted to bribe officials to suppress complaints about infected products.
On March 11, 2025, the Court granted a permanent injunction, restraining Medserve from using J&J’s trademarks and ordering the destruction of all counterfeit goods. The Court awarded the Plaintiff INR 2.34 crore as compensatory damages (25% of Medserve’s counterfeit sales) and INR 1 crore as exemplary damages, along with full litigation costs. The Court emphasized that counterfeiting medical devices is not only a violation of trademark rights but a severe threat to public health, warranting strict punitive action.
Source: Johnson & Johnson v. Pritamdas Arora T/A M/S Medserve & Anr. [(CS(COMM) 570/2019)]