Luxury goods company Richemont, which owns brands such as Chloé and Cartier, has sued a group of Chinese citizens running internet stores allegedly designed to fool customers into thinking they are licensed sellers.
The complaint was filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division on Thursday, October 5.
As well as selling counterfeit goods, the “interrelated group of counterfeiters” were accused of deceiving customers by using meta tags to ensure the websites appear high on internet search rankings when consumers were searching for legitimate goods.
The defendants allegedly ran stores on internet market places selling a range of Richemont goods, including Chloé perfume and Montblanc products.
Richemont’s marks include US trademark number 950,843 for ‘Chloé’, first registered in 1973, and 776,208 for ‘Montblanc’, first registered in 1964.
“Plaintiffs have been and continue to be irreparably damaged through consumer confusion, dilution, and tarnishment of their valuable trademarks as a result of defendants’ actions, and seek injunctive and monetary relief,” the complaint concluded in saying.
Richemont, Chloé, Cartier, fakes, counterfeiters, clothing
