After four-and-a-half years of crying money, Italian fashion house Versace has won a legal victory against Griffith Suisse Luxury Group, which is the misleading name of a Philippines- and Australia-based company which sold knock-off versions of the label on eBay.
Counterfeit designer goods have been a huge problem for the online auction giant. Tiffany & Co. sued the company after the jeweler determined that 83% of its listed products were in fact counterfeited. In 2010, eBay won a dismissal of the case.
Another high profile legal tangle: in 2008, a French court ordered the retailer to pay luxury group LVMH $61 million in damages — but the decision was overturned in 2012.
Pursuing legal action against eBay hasn't proven to be the most effective route for companies seeking to protect their trademark in online sales. eBay currently has a policy against counterfeiting, promising customers a full refund in case they inadvertently buy a knock-off. The retailer has also been hosting an anti-counterfeit online campaign, You Can't Fake Fashion, in partnership with the CFDA since 2011.
Versace's recent lawsuit and victory show the fashion industry taking a different approach to reducing online sales of designer fakes. Instead of holding eBay responsible for listed knock-offs, the Italian brand took action against the actual counterfeiting group. And won!
But the lengthy litigation seems like a testament to how inhospitable the legal climate can often be to companies hoping to protect themselves against even the most blatant forms of trademark infringement. For Versace, the process took almost five years and who knows how many millions of dollars.
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