French Court Fines Chanel for Counterfeiting

Last Friday, the Paris Court of Appeal ordered Chanel to pay 200,000 euros, or $258,400 to World Tricot in a counterfeiting suit it filed in 2009. According to the original complaint, the plaintiff manufacturer was one ofChanel's suppliers of a series of crochet designs. Chanel eventually terminated the business relationship, but continued to produce one of the white crochet designs as part their collection (see image below). The plaintiff accused Chanel of copyright infringement and breach of contract. 

Unlike the U.S. copyright regime, France's IP system does offer fashion works copyright protection. Nevertheless, fabric patterns such as those found in lace, knits, or crochet designs, have been found to becopyrightable in U.S. courts. (See Eve of Miladay v. Impression Bridal Inc.; Knitwaves, Inc. v. Lollytogs Ltd.). So even if the suit had been filed under U.S. courts, World Tricot would have had a viable case. 

The original 2009 Commercial Court decision went in favor of Chanel, ordering World Tricot to pay 200,002 euros for "public disparagement." On Friday, this decision was reversed - with the Paris Court of Appeal ordering Chanel to pay out. The French fashion house has said that it is thinking about appealing the Supreme Court's decision, believing that World Tricot originally filed the lawsuit to gain publicity and because desperate times have fallen local manufacturers as designers continue to outsource their work.