EU Trademark Court Upholds Ban on Mention of Lacoste by “Smell Alike” Perfume Manufacturer

Posted on May 3, 2019 by JFP

According to the International Law Office website, “the Alicante Provincial Court (acting as the EU Trademark Court) dismissed Equivalenza Retail, SL’s appeal against the Alicante Commercial Court Number 2 judgment of 13 February 2017, in which it had been sentenced for infringing various perfume trademarks owned by Hugo Boss, Gucci and Lacoste in the context of its smell-alike business.” Lacoste and several other brands had filed suit against Equivalenza for selling and marketing “smell-alike” perfumes and making unauthorised use of their registered trademarks both in comparison lists and orally in commercial speech.

The earlier judgement had ordered Equivalenza to:

cease and desist from marketing its perfumes using the plaintiffs’ trademarks.
withdraw and destroy its comparison lists and any other means of advertising containing the plaintiffs’ trademarks.
compensate the plaintiffs and publish the judgment.

You can read the details of the case here.

Lacoste Goes After Counterfeit Goods in India

Posted on December 21, 2018 by JFP

Lacoste scored a victory over counterfeiters in India. The World Trademark Review reports:

Lacoste S.A has prevailed in a counterfeit court case brought against two Noida-based firms for the sale of counterfeit Lacoste products. The win, in the Patiala House Court, marks the culmination of a three-year legal battle with the two infringing firms, which were ordered to cease the sale of counterfeit Lacoste goods and pay damages to the company on account of loss to goodwill and reputation suffered from the sale of fakes. The suit was filed against M/s Fashion Zone and M/s Export Hut, which were using the LACOSTE mark, along with the crocodile logo. The court accepted the suit and appointed the local commissioner to carry out search and seizure actions on the infringing firm’s premises.

One of the counterfeiters was fined one hundred thousand Rupees and both were required to forswear further counterfeiting.

Editor’s Note: As always, the counterfeit Lacoste keeps coming, so before you buy make sure you check out my articles on detecting fake Lacoste shirts and detecting fake Lacoste bags, or my detailed discussion of how to authenticate Lacoste.

More Fake Lacoste Seized in South Africa

Posted on November 21, 2018 by JFP

In early November, authorities in South African Customs officials seized a large amount of fake Lacoste shoes. Here’s their statement on the issue:

SARS Customs officials intercepted suspected counterfeit clothing and shoes valued at approximately R10 722 364 in the Western Cape over the weekend. The incident happened during a special high-visibility operation at Rawsonville Weighbridge off the N1 – 20 km south of Worcester on Saturday. The operation saw traffic and Customs officials redirecting all trucks carrying goods from the N1 to the Weighbridge, in order to detect possible illicit goods and collect all revenue due. Customs officials decided to search a truck carrying two vessel containers, one 20ft, the other 40ft, en route to Johannesburg from Cape Town. After opening the 20ft container, officers discovered what seemed to be second-hand truck tyres and rims. They then opened the 40ft container where they found heavy machinery, heavy boxes of unbranded goods, rubber sheets etc. However, further inspections revealed boxes containing branded clothing and footwear hidden at the back of the container. There were a total of 86 boxes containing the following brands and quantities:

* 1500 pairs Lacoste Takkies

* 2200 pairs Nike Takkies

* 1936 Adidas T-shirts

* 96 pairs John Foster shoes

The goods were confiscated and detained for further investigation.

Editor’s Note: As always, the counterfeit Lacoste keeps coming, so before you buy make sure you check out my articles on detecting fake Lacoste shoes, detecting fake Lacoste shirts and detecting fake Lacoste bags, or my detailed discussion of how to authenticate Lacoste.

Lacoste Goes After Counterfeiters In Florida Federal Court

Posted on October 26, 2018 by JFP

On October 10th, Lacoste filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against dozens of online merchants accusing them of violating Federal trademark laws.

According to the complaint, the thirty-seven defendants created multiple aliases to sell counterfeit Lacoste goods through e-commerce stores. Lacoste claims the counterfeit items are of a lesser quality and will confuse customers into thinking the defendants’ fake goods are real Lacoste products:

“Defendants are using Lacoste’s famous brand name and trademarks to drive internet consumer traffic to their e-commerce stores operating under the seller IDs, thereby increasing the value of the seller IDs and decreasing the size and value of Lacoste’s legitimate common marketplace at plaintiffs’ expense”

The company alleges the defendants are causing irreparable harm. In addition, Lacoste claims the defendants are making substantial profits and are “likely to transfer or secret their assets to avoid payment of any monetary judgment awarded to plaintiffs.” Lacoste is seeking an injunction to stop the defendants from selling the counterfeit items and disable the seller IDs.

UK Shopkeeper Convicted Of Selling Fake Lacoste Goods

Posted on September 29, 2018 by JFP

Showing that the danger of buying fake Lacoste goods is not restricted to online, a Northern UK retailer in Blackhall, County Durham was convicted and fined for selling counterfeit Lacoste, Nike apparel and potentially dangerous hair straighteners.

Remember, you should always check any Lacoste items you buy second-hand, online or from unfamiliar retailer using the instructions in my post on detecting counterfeit and fake Lacoste items. You can find more details on the case at the Northern Echo or Chronicle Live.