A Shanghai court has ruled in favour of high-end Italian fashion brand Fendi this week, in a retrial of the case the brand initiated with companies Capital Outlets Commercial Development and Shanghai Yilang International Trade regarding trade mark infringement and illicit competition.
The outlets in question were found to be selling fake goods, closely resembling Fendi goods, that had been parallel imported into China from France, clearly intended to mislead customers into believing that the goods were genuine.
Shanghai Yilang International Trade have been registering ‘Fendi’ related trademarks in China since the 1980s, although, these registrations had not been questioned in court until 2016. Shanghai Yilang International Trade argued that they were selling legitimate products due to their possession of these trade marks.
However, in 2018, the Shanghai Higher People’s Court ruled in favour of Fendi, agreeing that the signage used by the outlet companies was misleading and, hence, the offending companies were ordered to pay $54,000 to Fendi in compensation. The retrial this week supported that ruling three years later.
If you have any questions on the above or would like to know more about trade marks please do not hesitate to contact the Trademarkroom team today.
-Ellie King
