LV Cracks Down On Counterfeit Goods In China One Month, 30 Merchants Accused Of Suspicion

Recently, some well-known luxury goods Card has set off a wave of crackdowns on counterfeits in China. In the past July, LV alone sued more than 30 self-employed enterprises in Nanjing and Hefei, each claiming 500000 yuan, with a total amount of more than 20 million yuan. luxury goods Why do big alligators "compete with small businesses"? Behind its "clustering" crackdown on counterfeits, is it protecting rights or hype? Where to go after the "earthquake" of many fake fairs?

30 companies in a row in January, Luxury brand "Gather together" to crack down on counterfeits

Since July, Nanjing Laidi Shopping Plaza, Huanbei Market, Taotao Lane and other three major markets and about 20 small businesses in the market have taken turns to stand in the dock of the Intellectual Property Division of Nanjing Intermediate People's Court. The prosecution they face is the internationally famous luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton (microblog) Maritti (hereinafter referred to as LV).

LV entrusted Beijing Roger Law Firm to file a lawsuit one by one against these small businesses for knowing and selling fake goods, repeatedly infringing their trademark rights for a long time, claiming 500000 yuan from each small business and tens of thousands of yuan in rights protection costs, and investigated the joint liability of the market management party. The market of these defendants is mostly similar to the past Xiushui Street in Beijing. Most of the goods they sell are cheap, with various brands and many counterfeits. They are called "fake fairs".

Soon, the storm of cracking down on counterfeit goods also hit Hefei. In late July, the company also sued more than 10 small businesses in Hefei Sun City and Baima Mall.

According to the reporter's calculation, up to now, the company has filed a lawsuit against more than 30 merchants in Nanjing and Hefei, claiming about 20 million yuan. Due to the density of cases and the similarity of litigation content, the local media in Nanjing laughingly said that the Intellectual Property Division of Nanjing Intermediate People's Court has recently become a "LV special session". In August, there are still more than ten lawsuits to be fought in this "special session".

The reporter learned from Nanjing Intermediate People's Court that not only LV This year, brands such as Dunhill and Cartier (Weibo) have also filed a lawsuit against the Court for rights protection. Columbia, a famous outdoor brand, also launched a large-scale lawsuit recently, with 36 defendant businesses. The number of cases related to the crackdown on counterfeit luxury brands has far exceeded that in previous years.

"Being shanzhai" is intolerable, rights protection or hype?

Why do these luxury goods suddenly crack down on counterfeit goods in China?

"Louis Vuitton firmly believes that combating counterfeiting and plagiarism is an important part of the brand's sustainable development." Tan Zhiyu, the head of LV's public relations department, explained in a letter to reporters that the company is not just defending its rights in China. Its global anti counterfeiting action has been ongoing. In 2009, it planned to launch 9489 search operations, an average of 39 times a day, 26843 anti counterfeiting lawsuits were filed worldwide.

Different from the official statement, a person in close contact with the company disclosed to the reporter that the company chose this time point to fight against counterfeiting in Nanjing because the flagship store in Nanjing will open. Coincidentally, the company's Yintai Center store in Hefei will also be opened in the near future.

Why do big international companies hold on to small businesses? Is it unbearable to be "shanzhai"?

Zeng Mingyue, an expert at the Luxury Research Center of the University of International Business and Economics, believes that China's luxury sales growth last year was the first in the world. At the same time, the crazy pursuit of the public led to the proliferation of counterfeits and shoddy goods. The reason for making high claims against small businesses is that this way has less investment, faster results and stronger deterrent power than finding fake dens.

The reporter learned that this company has been cracking down on counterfeiting in China for many years, but the actual compensation received is not high, the maximum is only about 90000 yuan. For luxury goods tycoons who sell a bag for tens of thousands of yuan, the effect of rights protection is obviously minimal. However, this company insists on using this method to fight against counterfeiting, which is worth pondering.

Hu Jianhua, a lawyer from Jiangsu Shengdian Law Firm, believes that these large international luxury companies compete with those small businesses, which does not rule out the suspicion of propaganda and momentum. However, we also have to admit that a series of legal actions of these companies have been properly handled, both for rights protection and publicity.

In response to the "high-profile" crackdown on counterfeit goods, guiding rational consumption is the key

The reporter recently learned that although LV had many merchants appealing in Nanjing and had a large amount of claims, it finally agreed to mediate in court.

Industry insiders believe that they are willing to buy fake products to satisfy their vanity while knowing that the products worth two or three hundred yuan can not be authentic. This consumer psychology of "knowing and buying fake products" is the root of the proliferation of fake products. "As luxury brands crack down on counterfeits in China, it reminds consumers to establish correct consumption concepts and reduce blind consumption flaunt," said Wang Hongtao, a lawyer from Beijing Rogers.

"Whether a luxury brand is pirated or not has always been an indicator to measure its popularity, which is also the reason why these companies do not spend much effort to stop counterfeiting. But the intensive crackdown on counterfeiting aimed at stopping the" sales "link this year shows the ambition of these luxury brands for the Chinese market." Zeng Mingyue said.

Hu Jianhua believes that in response to the high-profile crackdown on fake luxury goods, the key is to increase the efforts to combat fake goods, rectify those "fake markets", and create a good environment for our own brand creation.

Some people also believe that the trend of cracking down on fake luxury goods also warns those "fake fairs" that shopping malls should assume their due management responsibilities, not turn a blind eye to the sale of fake goods by small tenants, and at the same time guide merchants to take the real road of brand sales.