MIAMI – A luxury goods manufacturer is suing various distributors over claims that they have been selling, promoting and advertising goods that use counterfeit and infringing trademarks that resemble the Chanel marks.
Chanel Inc. filed a complaint on Feb. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Thunderburk, Charles2269, molizee58, jiucai07, RubinsteinStopz, et al., various distributors, citing alleged trademark counterfeiting and infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that it suffered and will continue to suffer unquantifiable damages. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly created confusion and deception among members of the trade and the consuming public as to the origin and quality of the counterfeit goods.
The plaintiff seeks the following: compensation for statutory damages amounting to $2 million per each counterfeit trademark used and product sold, reasonable attorneys’ fees and investigative fees, prejudgment interest and any further relief that the court deems just and proper. The plaintiff is represented by Stephen M. Gaffigan, Virgilio Gigante and T. Raquel Rodriguez-Albizu of Stephen M. Gaffigan PA in Fort Lauderdale.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Case number 0:16-cv-60311