Italian fashion house Versace has triumphed over a ring of counterfeiters in court – but it has take the label four-and-a-half-years to do so.
WWD report how the case, filed in Northern California, means the Griffith Suisse Luxury Group is now prohibited from using Versace’s trademarks and utilising auction website eBay as a selling platform. The group had been selling counterfeit Versace-branded merchandise from the site out of the Philippines and Australia.
“Counterfeit goods not only bring a dilution of the brand, but are connected to organized crime, child labour and harmful working conditions,” said Versace chief executive officer Gian Giacomo Ferraris.
He added: “We are very pleased with the ruling. Versace is a brand that is well known around the world, and the violation of its intellectual property rights is a problem that the company has always been actively fighting. One cannot take pride in being counterfeited.”
Resale site eBay’s policy is not to allow replicas, counterfeit items, or unauthorised copies to be listed for sale.
Versace has recently signed up to Certilogo, a system which allows customers to enter their code online using the Certilogo Authenticator to check the authenticity of their purchase.
