Louis Vuitton's Victory Against Counterfeiters

Louis Vuitton's long-standing battle against counterfeits finally led to a victory on Tuesday.  After filing a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2010, the ITC ruled in favor of Louis Vuitton in an unfair trade case alleging widespread counterfeiting and knockoffs.  

The counterfeiters operate as a large-scale international enterprise that run several shell companies, including T&T Handbag Industrial Co. Ltd. in Guangzhou, China; Sanjiu Leather Co. Ltd. in Guangzhou; Meada Corp. and Pacpro Inc., both in El Monte, Calif., and Trendy Creations in Chatsworth, Calif.  The companies manufacture the products abroad and then import and sell thousands of counterfeit and knockoff handbags, luggage, accessories and packaging and illegally profit off the luxury brand’s trademarks.  

It is generally not common to file a lawsuit with the ITC. Louis Vuitton was the first luxury goods company to seek redress with the agency. While the ITC must still determine what type of remedy to impose, the ruling is significant because along with the recent True Religion victory against counterfeiting cybersquatters, it sends a message to those running these counterfeit networks that such illegal activity will not go unpunished.