Luxury fashion brand Belstaff has won a court battle against online counterfeiters, winning $42 million in damages and leading up an unprecedented 676 copycat websites being shut down.
The win was announced by MarkMonitor, a specialist in enterprise brand protection, which worked with Belstaff to identify and pursue the copycats.
MarkMonitor used technology to identify some 3000 websites selling counterfeits products – more than 800 of them managed by one individual based in China.
After the evidence was collected, a civil lawsuit was lodged in the US, with counterfeiters ordered to pay the $42 million and nearly 700 websites handed over to the brand.
“There are other high profile luxury brands that have taken advantage of the US counterfeiting law, however we believe that our case has set the bar even higher due to the unprecedented number of sites that were taken down in one go,” said Elena Mauri, head of legal with Belstaff.
“The whole legal process took less than four months and none of the single top 20 websites that were cited in the case are still in operation today. We certainly wouldn’t hesitate to take this legal route in the future, and we will continue to take a zero tolerance approach to any further illicit counterfeiting behaviour.”
The legal result follows the company’s decision to embark on a major protection program for all of its IP – from registering of trademarks to individual products, including seeking external help from MarkMonitor.
The program was put in place to monitor the full range of the different marketplaces and individual websites selling counterfeit products. The search also focused on any websites using the Belstaff name in their domain name, as well as generic sites listing counterfeit products.
Gavin Haig, Belstaff CEO, said eCommerce has been a major driver of the brand’s growth.
“However, alongside the clear benefits of venturing into the online retail market, we were aware of the potential negative impact from counterfeiters. Right from the outset, we have been determined to stop our customers falling prey to counterfeiters. We want to do everything in our power to protect our loyal customer base and our hard-earned 91 year old heritage.”
The majority of the counterfeit products were jackets and outerwear, particularly counterfeit copies of Belstaff’s best-selling leather jackets. The copies were many seasons old; designs no longer in production.
MarkMonitor’s technology is capable of exploring an entire network of sites, including both the index and non-index results, as well as examine fundamental criteria such as the website’s design and the payment processes.
Jerome Sicard, regional manager, Southern Europe, said the court decision sends a stark warning to online counterfeiters and underlines the increasing importance of online brand protection.
“This is not the first case of its kind, however the Belstaff ruling is unusual due to the substantial number of websites being handed over to the brand.”
