Belstaff Wins $42 Million Counterfeit Case

HAVING embarked on a top-level civil lawsuit to protect itsintellectual property and catch online counterfeiters sellingimitations of its products, Belstaff iscelebrating being awarded more than $42 million in damages from atotal of 676 offending websites.
The large majority of the products being copied comprisedouterwear, including the brand's famous leather jackets, arepresentative for the brand confirmed to us. Assisted by industryexperts MarkMonitor, which is able to scan global networks forindex and non-index related results using specific search criteria,Belstaff was able to identify 3,000 websites selling counterfeitproducts, more than 800 of which were managed by one individualbased in China.
"This decision sends a stark warning to online counterfeitersand underlines the increasing importance of online brandprotection," Jerome Sicard, regional manager of southernEurope at MarkMonitor, said. "This is not the firstcase of its kind, however the Belstaff ruling is unusual due to thesubstantial number of websites being handed over to the brand."

Belstaff's head of legal, Elena Mauri, concurred, statingthat "none of the single top 20 websites that were cited in thecase are still in operation today" and that the brand wouldn'thesistate to take the same legal action again.
"At Belstaff, e-commerce has been a major driver for the growthof our brand. However, alongside the clear benefits of venturinginto the online retail market, we were aware of the potentialnegative impact from counterfeiters," explained CEO, Gavin Haig."Right from the outset, we have been determined to stop ourcustomers falling prey to counterfeiters, we want to do everythingin our power to protect our loyal customer base and ourhard-earned, 91-year-old heritage."


$40.000