Dispute update: Chanel success over copycats

Last week, The Trademarkroom blog reported that fashion giant, Chanel, were taking action against sellers who were allegedly trying to take advantage of Chanel’s widespread recognition, selling counterfeit goods online.

These sellers were operating through Amazon. Many people are unaware that anyone can sell through Amazon, you don’t have to be a big brand. Therefore, it can be a breeding ground for the sale of counterfeit copycat goods.

Chanel were claiming that the sale of the counterfeit goods infringed their trade marks and were allegedly claiming $2 million per infringement of trade mark, which would have added up to a rather large sum.

While Chanel’s potential success rate was very high, some were sceptical as to whether they would receive such high level of damages.

And those people were right to be.

The Californian court in which Chanel made the claim, ruled that the 24 Amazon sellers were selling counterfeit goods and were infringing Chanel’s trade marks.

The sellers were ordered to cease the sale of such goods and to pay Chanel $100,000 for each counterfeit item sold. It is believed this will amount to approx.$3 million

While this isn’t the amount Chanel originally sought out to receive, this is a substantial level of damages for counterfeit sellers to pay, especially as one made under $50 from the sale of their copycat goods.

While this may seem unfair, this will be yet another deterrent for counterfeiters to target big brands and ultimately rip off the consumer.

For more information on how to protect your brand, contact The Trademarkroom team today.

By Ellis Sweetenham