Chanel takes on online counterfeiters
Chanel has sued two individuals for allegedly selling infringing bags online, demanding the defendants pay $2 million per trademark infringed.
The complaint, which was filed on Friday, June 16, at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleged that the individuals, Kristin Torres and Ricardo Torres, have been selling counterfeit Chanel products.
According to Chanel, the products sold online carried confusingly similar imitations of its trademark.
The websites on which the counterfeit products were sold were also accused of infringing Chanel’s trademark.
Websites used to sell the counterfeit products include ‘chanelfraffitibackpack.com’ and ‘chanelboybags.com’. The products were also distributed on social media platforms such as Facebook.
Chanel said in its complaint: “Defendants’ entire business amounts to nothing more than an illegal operation established and operated in order to infringe the intellectual property rights of Chanel”.
It added that the defendants’ domain names and social media handles also constituted illegal activities and have caused harm to Chanel.
Chanel said that the infringing products are likely to cause confusion and deceive consumers during purchase.
In the complaint, Chanel asked the district court to grant a permanent injunction enjoining the counterfeit products from being sold.
It has also asked the court for the domain names to be transferred so that they no longer will be used, as well as a payment for all profits resulting from the illegal use of Chanel’s trademarks.
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