Microsoft wins ₹55L in damages in trademark infringement case

Payments were funnelled through entities associated with Retnec Solutions, revealing a well-orchestrated international scam, police said.

In an ex-parte suit, Microsoft Corporation has been awarded ₹55 lakh in damages by the Exclusive Commercial Court in Gurugram for trademark infringement and fraudulent activities conducted by Retnec Solutions Pvt Ltd.

The defendants allegedly used deceptive pop-up messages and cold calls to claim that customers’ computers were infected with malware and required immediate technical support. (Reuters)

The court, presided over by Additional District Judge Mahavir Singh, also imposed litigation costs of ₹20.6 lakh on the defendants and issued a permanent injunction restraining them from misusing Microsoft’s trademarks, including “HOTMAIL,” “OUTLOOK,” and “OFFICE 365.”

The 42-page judgment detailed the fraudulent operations of Retnec Solutions, a Gurugram-based entity that posed as a Microsoft-certified technical support provider. The company and its directors, Zayed Sahaye and Akshay Anand, were found guilty of exploiting Microsoft’s trademarks to deceive customers in at least 15 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.

The defendants allegedly used deceptive pop-up messages and cold calls to claim that customers’ computers were infected with malware and required immediate technical support.

Payments were funnelled through entities associated with Retnec Solutions, revealing a well-orchestrated international scam.

Police said this is the first such case in Gurugram where a penalty has been imposed on the suspects running fake call centres.

Delivering the verdict, judge Mahavir Singh directed Retnec Solutions to pay ₹50 lakh in damages, jointly and severally, and imposed an additional ₹5 lakh penalty on the company directors. The court also ordered the confiscation and destruction of all materials bearing Microsoft’s trademarks, such as promotional brochures, scripts, and invoices.

The judgment stated, “The defendants acted in connivance with other entities to exploit Microsoft’s brand for wrongful monetary gains, targeting vulnerable customers globally.”

Evidence presented in court included complaints from over 700,000 victims submitted via Microsoft’s online reporting portal.