The Delhi High Court on Tuesday set aside a 2019 ruling that had dismissed a series of passing off suits filed by US-based footwear brand Crocs Inc. against several Indian manufacturers allegedly copying its distinctive foam clogs.

A Division Bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Ajay Digpaul restored the suits for trial, allowing Crocs to pursue claims of passing off based on the shape, configuration, and perforated design of its products.

The court directed that the suits be placed before a single-judge bench for adjudication on merits.

Crocs had initiated proceedings against companies including Bata India, Liberty Shoes, Relaxo Footwear, Action Shoes, Aqualite, and Bioworld Merchandising, alleging that they were marketing footwear with a deceptively similar design—thus misrepresenting their products as those of Crocs and unlawfully leveraging Crocs’ global goodwill.

The dispute involves the shape and design of Crocs' foam clogs, which the company claims constitute a distinctive shape trademark or trade dress eligible for protection under common law.

In a 2019 decision, a single judge of the High Court had dismissed the suits at a preliminary stage, holding that Crocs could not maintain passing off actions for features already protected as registered designs under the Designs Act, 2000. The judge reasoned that this amounted to seeking a "dual monopoly," whereby Crocs sought perpetual protection under trademark law for designs that were entitled only to limited-term protection under the statute.

Relying on rulings in Mohan Lal v. Sona Paint and Carlsberg Breweries v. Som Distilleries, the single judge had concluded that once a design is registered, a passing off action based solely on those features would subvert legislative intent.

However, the Division Bench has now reversed this finding, clarifying that the maintainability of a passing off action must be determined based on merits and not dismissed at the threshold solely on the ground of dual protection.

Crocs was represented by Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, along with advocates Shravan Kumar Bansal, Ajay Amitabh Suman, Rishi Bansal, and Avinash Kumar Sharma of United & United.

Bata India was represented by advocates Neeraj Grover, Angad Deep Singh, Mohona Sarkar, and Kashish Vij, while Liberty Footwear was represented by Saikrishna Rajagopal, Julien George, Arjun Gadhoke, Deepika Pokharia, and N Parvati.

The case will now proceed before the single-judge bench for full trial on the issue of passing off.