Hermes has come out in top in a major trademark infringement and counterfeiting case. The verdict has netted the fashion firm a hefty $100 million in damages.
Manhattan federal judge Denise Coat ruled in favour of the esteemed fashion house, which brought charges against 34 websites selling knockoffs of its famous designs. These sites, included HermesBagsOutlet.org and HermesBirkin Bags.org, sold replicas of at least nine key Hermes accessories including its iconic Birkin and Kelly bags. They also created counterfeit versions of other Hermes accessories, such as belts, watches, jewelry, and silk scarves.
It seems these e-tailers will have little chance of surviving as leading search engines, including Google, Yahoo, and Bing, have been instructed to stop providing links to their sites. Facebook and Twitter were also told to de-index the offending sites.
Right now it appears they’re burying their heads in the sand. None of the defendants appeared in court, and they’d previously ignored temporary restraining orders which barred them from selling the Hermes knockoffs.
Now that they’ve been hit in the hip pocket, hopefully the counterfeiters will be forced to take notice! Apparently cash held in the websites PayPal accounts will be directly taken for damages, so there’s little chance of them wheedling out of the fine!
[Image Source: Yvette Religioso-Ilagan/Wikipedia Commons]
