Harley-Davidson steps up fight against Chinese fakes with another suit
Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson has filed another trademark infringement lawsuit against a group of Chinese counterfeiters.
At the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday, September 6, Harley-Davidson accused a group of “individuals and business entities who reside in China” of running online stores designed to fool consumers into thinking they are buying legitimate products.
It claimed the group “further perpetuate the illusion of legitimacy by offering customer service and using indicia of authenticity and security that consumers have come to associate with authorised retailers, including the Visa, MasterCard, and/or PayPal logos”.
The group allegedly sold products using counterfeit versions of Harley-Davidson’s federally registered trademarks across the US.
Harley-Davidson owns a number of trademarks including US number 0,507,163 for the ‘Harley-Davidson’ name, first registered in 1949, and 3,447,304 for the logo with a bald eagle used for “a full line of clothing in class 25”.
The motorcycle manufacturer said in the claim that consumers have come to expect the “highest quality from Harley-Davidson products offered under the Harley-Davidson trademarks and defendants’ use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception”.
As a result, the company is seeking $2 million for each use of the Harley-Davidson trademarks, a transfer of profits, injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and costs.
The case continues what has been a busy year for Harley-Davidson on the IP front.
In January, Harley-Davidson sued clothing company Urban Outfitters in a dispute centring on bodysuits, claiming that the retailer diluted Harley-Davidson’s trademarks and was in breach of a contract between the companies.
Six months later, as reported by WIPR, Harley-Davidson obtained an injunction against another group of Chinese counterfeiters running an online store, before filing another trademark infringement suit last month.
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