South: Clarke Willmott highlights legal risk in allowing counterfeit sales
Lawyers at Clarke Willmott LLP have warned that owners and operators of retail sites are at risk of legal action if they allow counterfeit goods to be sold on their sites.
The warning follows leading fashion brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry and Lacoste winning an appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union in a landmark case relating to the sale of counterfeit products.
The decision has strengthened brand owners in their fight against counterfeit products in physical market places after ruling that injunctions can be brought against those who let retail space to traders who sell counterfeit goods.
The decision comes after a case was brought by several big name fashion brands against Delta Center which operates a marketplace in Prague, in order to prevent it from letting retail space to traders selling counterfeit goods which infringed on the brands’ intellectual property rights.
Paul Cox, partner in the intellectual property team at Clarke Willmott, said: “The decision means that retail-property owners and market operators will need to be vigilant about what is sold on their premises as they will no longer be able to turn a blind-eye to traders selling counterfeit goods.”
