Overview
- The Supreme Court dismissed special leave petitions by Bata India and Liberty Shoes challenging a July 2025 Delhi High Court order that revived Crocs’ passing off suits.
- A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe directed the single-judge trial court to decide the suits independently and kept the broader question of law unresolved.
- The litigation concerns Crocs’ claim that Indian manufacturers copied the shape, configuration and perforated pattern of its foam clogs, asserted as distinctive trade dress.
- The petitioners argued that permitting passing off over features registered as designs would create a dual monopoly and enable evergreening beyond the Designs Act’s 15-year limit, citing Carlsberg and Mohan Lal precedents and Section 2(d).
- Crocs’ counsel contended that passing off is a separate common-law remedy rooted in goodwill built since 2004 and noted the suits have been pending for more than a decade.