Gucci wins $144.2million in damages On A Lawsuit Filed Against Online Counterfeiters

Gucci America Inc has won a lawsuit against several organizations engaged in online counterfeiting and cybersquatting - the use of a domain name that profits from another company's trademark. According to WWD, the design house was awarded $144.2million in damages by a federal court, and the U.S. district court for the Southern District of Florida ordered the surrender to Gucci of 155 domain names used in the counterfeiting scheme.

President and chief executive officer Patrizio di Marco said of the win: 'We are extremely pleased that the court clearly understood the dangers to consumers posed by online counterfeiting organizations Gucci America Inc has won a lawsuit against several organizations engaged in online counterfeiting and cybersquatting - the use of a domain name that profits from another company's trademark.

According to WWD, the design house was awarded $144.2million in damages by a federal court, and the U.S. district court for the Southern District of Florida ordered the surrender to Gucci of 155 domain names used in the counterfeiting scheme. President and chief executive officer Patrizio di Marco said of the win:
'We are extremely pleased that the court clearly understood the dangers to consumers posed by online counterfeiting organizations Gucci has filed a number of lawsuits in the past few years; a recent one, which was originally filed in both Milan and New York in 2009, accused clothing label Guess of using its trademark 'G' on some of its apparel. 'We are extremely pleased the court clearly understood the dangers to consumers posed by online counterfeiting' It claimed that Guess was guilty of counterfeiting, unfair competition and trademark infringement. Gucci won the legal battle in New York, and was ultimately awarded $457,183 in damages for breach of its signatures. The Milan court, however, ruled in favor of Guess, stating that the 'G' was common in the fashion world and was separate from Guess's own interlocking G symbol.
The court also ordered the cancellation of some of Gucci's pattern trademarks in Italy.