SofiasReplica is one of many counterfeit websites that have been stopped by Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Iconic French fashion house Louis Vuitton has won a victory against the host of websites that sold counterfeit versions of its products.
A federal jury in California found Akanoc Solutions, Managed Solutions Group and Steven Chen liable for contributory trademark and copyright infringement, awarding Louis Vuitton Malletier SA $32.4 million in damages.
The court ruled that the defendants knew or should have known that its customers were using its services to infringe or to facilitate others to directly infringe Louis Vuitton’s trademarks. They had reasonable means to withdraw their services from counterfeiters, but they continued to provide services to the customers.
Louis Vuitton filed the lawsuit in 2007, after finding a group of sites with the same Internet address selling what it believed was counterfeit Louis Vuitton merchandise. The sites were hosted by Fremont, California-based Akanoc Solutions Inc. and Managed Solutions Group Inc., both operated by Steven Chen.
Louis Vuitton told the Associated Press that it expects the court to issue a permanent injunction banning the defendants from hosting websites selling counterfeit goods.
Not only has Louis Vuitton been going after web hosts, but it has also been active in targeting specific online counterfeiting operations. Earlier this year, Louis Vuitton and rival fashion house Chanel were granted a permanent injunction by a Florida court against a number of counterfeit retail sites such as SOFIASREPLICA.COM, 7STARHANDBAGS.COM, AMATORY.BIZ, and DOCTORREPLICA.COM.
Last month, after the owners of these sites did not respond to allegations of civil contempt, the domain names’ registry, Verisign (www.verisign.com), was ordered to transfer ownership of the domains to Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
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