Tory Burch: A Big Win for Fashion in the Fight Against Fakes
June 10, 2011 § 2 Comments
Today was a big win in the fight against fake designer products. Initially reported by WWD, Tory Burch has won a $164 million lawsuit against over 230 websites who have been cybersquatting and selling counterfeit Tory Burch products online. The term cybersquatting refers to a website who uses a designer or brand’s name in the domain name (URL) in order to deceive shoppers into believing their site sells legitimate merchandise.
Burch spoke out against fakes to Women’s Wear Daily saying, “Many people think that buying a fake product is harmless, but counterfeiting is estimated to result in annual losses of over $20 billion to American companies.”
And that is just in the United States. Counterfeiting is a global problem that effects more than just corporations, brands and designers. Besides contributing to criminal acts, counterfeits deprive jobs from hard working citizens as well as contribute to down economies.
Key numbers to know:
- Estimated $600 Billion annual sales in counterfeit products worldwide
- $512 Billion global sales lost to counterfeit goods
- $1 Billion estimated annual loss in New York City tax revenues due to counterfeiting
- 750,000 jobs lost due to intellectual property theft in the United States
It could be seen this morning that the fight against fakes is only going to get stronger. Executive Director of the CFDA, Steven Kolb, who was also quoted in the WWD article, tweeted this morning:
@StevenKolb “#fightBack. Major. Good job @toryburch! in winning $164M cybersquatting Suit – WWD.com http://t.co/jFlogxT @womensweardaily.”
To which Burch responded: @ToryBurch “Just starting!”
Congratulation fight against. I am sure it will be increasing day by day. Wish you all the best.
I am all for discontinuing the fakes. But there is a huge disconnect between stores/designers and thier customers. Some people will never be able to afford a nice handbag, and if they do save up forever to buy it, its out of style by next year. So if brands want to see a reduction in counterfeit goods, there needs to be a reduction in those pricey bags.