Gucci grabs $9m verdict in counterfeiting claim
Gucci America, the US arm of the luxury brand, has secured a $9 million verdict and a permanent injunction against online counterfeiters.
On Monday, April 17, Judge William Dimitrouleas at the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida signed the final default judgment.
Gucci was awarded $100,000 in damages for each of the 89 defendants’ infringement, with another $110,000 awarded against eight of those defendants.
The infringing domain names were also transferred to Gucci.
The luxury brand had brought its claim in late December last year, alleging counterfeiting and trademark infringement, false designation of origin, cybersquatting, and unfair competition.
“In order to combat the indivisible harm caused by the combined actions of defendants and others engaging in similar conduct, each year Gucci expends significant monetary resources in connection with trademark enforcement efforts,” said the lawsuit.
It added that there has been a recent explosion of counterfeiting over the internet, causing Gucci to file a large number of suits against, as it often later turns out, the same individuals and groups.
Gucci claimed that the defendants had used “identical copies of the Gucci marks for different quality goods”.
On the domain names, Gucci said the defendants used marks that are “nearly identical and/or confusingly similar” to at least one of the Gucci marks.
Today's top stories
Federal Circuit remands part of Samsung’s $15.7m patent ruling
iRobot targets Hoover and Black & Decker in patent suits
Withers & Rogers promotes patent attorney to partner
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox
