Gucci is going after discount designer e-comm site Beyond the Rack for allegedly peddling counterfeit Gucci bags. The luxury house filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the NYC-based members-only shopping site.
The allegation, which The Fashion Law reports is a multi-million dollar suit honing in on at least four unauthorized bag styles, was filed in the Southern District of New York court (which encompasses NYC).
“In order to protect the integrity of the Gucci brand and our loyal customers, Gucci has filed a lawsuit against online retailer Beyond the Rack alleging trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement and unfair competition, based on the retailer’s promotion and sale of counterfeit handbags that were falsely presented as genuine Gucci product,” a Gucci spokesperson told Refinery29. “Gucci is committed to protecting consumers from such illegal activity and to vigorously enforcing our intellectual property rights against those who sell counterfeit or infringing Gucci merchandise.”
Gucci was tipped off to the site’s faux-logoed bags in June, when the brand received multiple complaints from Beyond the Rack shoppers stating that their new double-G-plastered purchases were “inferior quality,” according to The Fashion Law.
The incriminating carryalls in question — which are no longer available on Beyond the Rack — all have “an exact replica of Gucci's registered Interlocking Non-Facing GG Monogram (or a mark substantially indistinguishable therefrom) and the registered GUCCI mark,” according to the suit.
Beyond the Rack isn’t even supposed to be selling — much less advertising in email promotions and site imagery — that it sells Gucci, since the site isn’t an authorized Gucci distributor.
In July 2014, the label’s parent company, Kering, took legal action against Chinese e-comm giant Alibaba over selling fake goods by Gucci and other luxury brands in its portfolio (not just as one-off items, but in bulk quantities). The case was dropped because Alibaba and Kering agreed to hash out anti-counterfeiting tactics. But when those talks didn’t go anywhere, the luxury conglomerate filed a new complaint against the site in May 2015. Three years ago, Gucci won $144.2 million from a slew of organizations selling counterfeit items by the brand on 155 different domain names (many of the URLs even included the brand’s name).
Stay tuned to find out how Gucci’s case against Beyond the Rack shakes out...
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT