Delhi Court Awards ₹1 Lakh To Cosco Against Kolkata Firm For Selling Counterfeit Footballs

A Commercial Court in Delhi has held B K Traders, a Kolkata-based sports goods seller, liable for dealing in counterfeit COSCO-branded footballs and has directed it to pay Rs 1 lakh in damages to Cosco India Ltd., the sports equipment manufacturer.

The Judgment was rendered on November 29, 2025 by District Judge Deepak Garg of the Commercial Court at Tis Hazari Courts in a trademark infringement and passing-off suit filed by Cosco India.

Cosco India said that it has been a leading manufacturer of sports goods for decades and owns registered trademarks for the “COSCO” word and device marks in India as well as in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The company said that in late 2018, it began receiving complaints about poor-quality footballs and volleyballs being sold under the COSCO mark. A market inquiry revealed that B K Traders in Kolkata was allegedly manufacturing and distributing counterfeit COSCO balls across India using fake holograms and MRP stickers.

After this discovery, Cosco lodged an FIR in December 2018 in Kolkata. Police subsequently raided the trader's premises and seized several counterfeit sports balls including 205 footballs bearing the COSCO mark.

During the proceedings, the Kolkata firm filed a reply claiming to be a small-scale business and denied infringing Cosco's trademarks or passing off goods as COSCO products. The court noted that a permanent injunction had already been granted in November 2023, restraining the firm from selling or dealing in products identical or deceptively similar to COSCO goods.

After reviewing the evidence, the court recorded that 205 counterfeit COSCO footballs had been recovered during the raid. While Cosco had sought rendition of accounts and delivery-up of infringing goods, the court observed that the seized items formed part of the criminal case property and could not be handed over at this stage.

It also held that the material on record was insufficient to grant rendition of accounts.

On the issue of monetary relief, the court held that although exact financial loss could not be calculated, damages were justified considering the quantity of counterfeit products seized and the duration of infringing activity. The court therefore awarded Rs 1 lakh as damages to Cosco India, along with costs of the suit.

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