Kate Middleton Spurs Epidemic Of Counterfeit Goods

A Right Royal Rip Off

When on 02 April 2012, Madam Tussauds in Baker Street and New York unveiled the wax works of newest member of the Royal Family, The Duchess of Cambridge. Kate Middleton standing alongside her husband Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge in their Royal area. No one could have guessed it would begin the largest number of counterfeit items on online sites and see a wave of counterfeiters cashing in on the clothes and fragrances. Kate is known to 'shop her own' closet, to wear in public. The former accessories buyer shops British retailers along with luxury fashion designer, often combining the two in a single outfit.

The royal rip off has triggered an epidemic of mammoth proportions culminating masses of fake goods, arriving in mainly from Asia. The demand to supply an ever hungry public of consumers, willing to buy these goods in a desperate attempt to style themselves after the Duchess, is growing at a frenzied pace. Pundits believe that Kate is all set to become the saviour of British fashion. Certainly, her brand is already thought to be worth millions; one newspaper calculates that she will fuel a £2 billion bonanza for Britain’s economy: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Kate Middleton’s legacy is bigger than that of the Olympics, domestically and internationally,’ Dr Harold Goodwin, a professor of tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University, was quoted as saying. Unfortunately, all the major British retailers, whose clothes appear in Kate's public appearances, are victims of this online scam.

Amsterdam Madame Tussauds  get a very impressive recreation of her black lace Alice Temperley gown, worn to the War Horse film première in London this January

Catherine is dressed in an exact copy of the Alexander McQueen floor-sweeping gown from the BAFTA Brits to Watch Awards. Catherine’s figure also sports a painstakingly accurate recreation of the stunning sapphire and diamond engagement ring once worn by the late Diana.

Kate Madame Tussauds NYC recreation of the Alexander McQueen dress The Duchess wore to the BAFTA dinner in Los Angeles last summer sapphire and diamond engagement ring once worn by the late Diana

The Links of London topaz earrings worn by Kate Middleton during her engagement photo shoot at Buckingham Palace have been the party of a design rip off.  The £275 topaz 'Hope' earrings immortalised by the duchess, for Mario Testino's iconic engagement photos with Prince William, has been found on hundreds of websites selling counterfeit copies of the product. This has spurred an estimated £7 million pounds in lost sales for the luxury jewellery and accessories retailer. 

Links of London Hope Egg earrings white topaz, £275

The company stated that after Ms Middleton wore the earrings, they were inundated with orders. The supply soon ran out and restocking took months. In one New York Links of London store, a fight broke out over the last pair of Kate's white topaz 'Hope Egg' earrings.  In the interim the fakes appeared at a 20% discount, selling 1000s of units. This has also been rife with the clothing lines worn by the Duchess. Kate frequently patronises high street shops such as Whistles,Oasis, Reiss and L K Bennet. Once an outfit is photographed, at a public appearance, the images are flashed around the world and if they are still current stock, they sell out within minutes, in the retailers online shops. 

The Issa Sapphire dress, worn for Kate’s engagement, £385.

This has prompted a growing secondary market The famous blue Issa engagement dress is more impressive still. As you might expect, the real thing flew out of Harvey Nichols on the day Kate wore it; but then the knock-off at Tesco, retailing at £16, sold out within an hour of going online. There’s even a waiting list for her wedding fragrance, White Gardenia Petals by Illuminum. When the stock has sold out the fakes start to appear some with counterfeit labels and tags. 

FRAGRANCE, Illuminum White Gardenia Petals, £70

With there appearing to being no end in sight for the counterfeit market, it will be the British retailers and us the consumer that will end up paying the price.

pic credit Madame Tussauds and Links of London

For authentic luxury products & services; http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

Traffic stop leads to alleged counterfeit goods & pictures

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Police say a license plate violation led them a stash of alleged counterfeit goods.

Officers made the traffic stop along Interstate 85 near Hamilton Mill Road on Monday night.

Gwinnett police emailed Channel 2 Action News on the 27 June 2012, photographs of counterfeit Louis Vuitton, Coach, and Michael Kors purses they found inside the car.

Counterfeit Louis Vuitton, seized

Police arrested the driver, 34-year-old, Adrian Kaiser, of South Carolina. Investigators said he offered a couple of reasons for having the merchandise.

"He initially claimed that they belonged to his wife,” Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Ed Ritter said.

Counterfeit Michael Kors, seized

Then, he later stated he bought the items for $25 and he was taking them back to South Carolina to sell them for $40, Ritter said.

Counterfeit Coach, seized

Kaiser is charged with having forged or counterfeited good and driving without a license.

This goes to support our own first hand insight into the counterfeit merchandise presented to us, is getting extremely more sophisticated, as we compile an updated report of our own studies.

Additional content thanks to Channel 2 Action News

For luxury authentic products & services; http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

73 held in crackdown on counterfeit luxury goods ring

Counterfeit bags on sale in market 

Reporting on our sources, By Ni Yinbin (Shanghai Daily) THOUSANDS of fake luxury products have been confiscated and 73 suspects detained in southern China in a crackdown on what police say was a major source of counterfeit goods. 

More than 20,000 bags and suitcases purporting to be famous brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Coach were confiscated in the suspects' hideouts along with 17 manufacturing machines, 91 bank cards and deposit books, the Ministry of Public Security said.

Investigators said that more than 960,000 fake bags of various brands had been manufactured by the ring and many of them had been exported to the United States and the Middle East.

They estimated the value of the infringement of intellectual property rights case to be 5 billion yuan (US$802 million).

In January this year, police received information that the suspects, led by a man surnamed Qian, were making fake Louis Vuitton and Coach bags in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, and exporting them to countries including the United States. 

Police launched an investigation and contacted US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their help.

Throughout the next few months, police in Guangdong, Fujian and Anhui provinces mapped the gang's manufacturing, storing, transport and export network with the cooperation of the US authorities. 

Police launched a raid to capture Qian and his accomplices as they tried to smuggle another batch of fake bags to the US.

Police said that in 2010 Qian rented several stores in Guangzhou to handle orders and set up more than 10 hideouts for the manufacture of fake bags and other leather items and accessories. 

The gang then smuggled the fake products to the US and the Middle East with the help of overseas clients, police said.

Qian and the gang are said to have made huge profits from the business.

They had even managed to buy more than 33,000 square meters of land in Anhui Province where they were planning to build a factory, police said.

For authentic luxury products & services; http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

L’Oreal accused of Misleading Claims in Advertising Anti-aging Products & Skin 'Whitening'

French cosmetics giant L'Oréal has until Sept. 22, 2012 to respond to warnings by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to stop making misleading marketing claims for its Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate, which claims to boost "the activity of genes and stimulate the production of youth proteins."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned cosmetics giant L'Oreal to stop making misleading marketing claims for its anti-aging skincare products. The FDA accuses L'Oreal subsidiary Lancome, which manufactures Genifique, of making outrageous claims about its anti-aging lotion that are not scientifically substantiated.

In a letter sent Sept. 7 by the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the agency asked that L'Oreal modify its website and product labels to ensure the claims don’t violate drug regulations.

Genifique-Youth-Activating-Concentrate

In its ad for Genifique, L'Oreal claims that its lotion "helps create more youthful looking skin in just 7 days by promoting the production of proteins that are characteristic of young skin."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a letter to French cosmetics giant L’Oreal and warned them to stop making misleading marketing claims for its Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate, which claims to boost “the activity of genes and stimulate the production of youth proteins.”

The FDA accuses L’Oreal subsidiary Lancome of making outrageous claims that it is able to change the functions and structure of the human body in the same way that a drug can.

If the claims were true, Genifique would be considered a drug, and thereby subject to FDA regulatory scrutiny. This year, the FDA began aggressively targeting beauty products that make outrageous anti-aging claims that try to straddle the line between being a cosmetic and a drug. Cosmetic products are not subject to the same rigorous regulatory scrutiny that drugs are. The agency asked that L’Oreal change its website and product labels to ensure the claims don’t violate drug regulations.

Failure to make the requested corrections would result in legal action against the manufacturers and distributors as well as the withdrawal from the U.S. market of the illegal products.

Rachel Weisz banned Revitalift UK ad

This isn't the first time L'Oreal fallen foul on its marketing propaganda. In February 2012, a L'Oreal advertisement featuring actress Rachel Weisz was banned in the U.K. because the digitally-enhanced ad photo of the 42-year-old Oscar winner was so unrealistic-looking that it grossly exaggerated the performance of the anti-wrinkle cream.

And in September 2011, L'Oreal came under fire after being accused of lightening Indian actress Freida Pinto's skin tone in a makeup ad. Just three years earlier, L'Oreal was accused of doing the exact same thing to singer Beyonce in a cosmetics ad. In both instances, L'Oreal denied "whitewashing" its spokesmodels' skin tone.

Paris-based L'Oreal as yet, failed repeated media requests for comment on this recent allegation.

For luxury authentic products & services; http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

Pic Credits: L'Oreal/Getty

Date set for Dolce & Gabbana's tax evasion trial

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are to stand trial for tax evasion totalling €416 million. Fashion designing duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana along with six alleged co-conspirators will soon face trial in Milan for criminal tax evasion totally 1 billion euros.

After having been charged then acquitted of tax evasion–then charged again–Dolce & Gabbana, design duo will appear in an Italian court on December 3 2012 The designing duo are accused of evading €416 million of tax in relation to the sale of the Dolce & Gabbana and D&G brands to the designers' Luxembourg-based holding company Gado Srl. The Italian police consider Gado Srl to be a legal body set up to enable the pair to avoid the country's high corporate taxes.

The Guardia di Finanza, an Italian police force under the authority of the national minister of economy and finance, first brought the charges against the pair and five of their business associates in 2007, however, in April 2011 they were dismissed by a lower court, which deemed there was no foundation for a trial. The Italian Supreme Court overturned that decision last November, saying that "tax avoidance, or tax mitigation, on an earnings declaration is a criminal offence under the law," reports WWD . Previously, tax avoidance was not considered a criminal offence

The D&G and Dolce & Gabanna brands were sold to a holding company in Luxembourg in 2004, and prosecutors maintain that this ownership transfer took place explicitly to avoid paying taxes in Italy.

Investigations into the pair's alleged tax evasion began in 2007, but they were cleared of all charges. In November, a higher court overturned the not-guilty verdict, opening up the possibility of a new investigation.

The acquittal on charges of tax fraud remains intact, but the current case challenges the previous ruling of tax elusion and goes after Dolce, Gabanna, and six other for tax evasion--using illegal methods to avoid paying taxes.

Celebrity tax evasion cases, like Luciano Pavarotti's 10 million euro of back taxes settled in 2000, are typically settled outside of court to avoid negative press. If the Dolce and Gabanna case proceeds, it will be one of the first of its kind to go to trial

Although neither Dolce & Gabbana have commented on the trial date, both have previously denied any wrongdoing and have claimed they have a clear conscience.

If convicted, the designers and their co-accused business associates could face up to three years in prison, or a fine of up to €1 million.

For luxury authentic products & services; http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

Hermès employees found to be in on counterfeit ring

French police have dismantled an international crime ring which produced copies of the luxury fashion house's bags, with several Hermès staff in on the act.

A dozen people were arrested by French police last Thursday as part of the dismantling of an international crime ring which produced fake Hermès bags. Two Hermès employees have been dismissed as a result of the probe, according to WWD back in June of this year, but the luxury goods company believes that current members of staff could also be involved.

It has come as no surprise to Delortae Agency, who have noticed a sharp increase in our own person inspection of an increasingly new breed of sophisticated counterfeits from the iconic brand house.

Starting prices for two of the brand's most iconic bags, the Kelly and the Birkin, start in the several thousand of pounds bracket and are often subject to lengthy waiting lists. Lindsey Lohan, Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham are celebrity collectors of the brand.

Police discovered a workshop filled with precious leather skins and estimated that one branch operated by the ring contained sales worth around €18 million (£14.5 million).

"This operation concludes a one-year investigation following an Hermès complaint based on clues and abnormal behaviour identified through the house's internal monitoring systems," Hermès said in a statement.

The bust follows a ruling in April in which the Hermès was awarded approximately £63 million after winning their case against 34 counterfeit websites.

Hermès chief executive officer Patrick Thomas recently estimated that eighty per cent of objects sold on the internet under the Hermès name are fakes, a statistic he branded "an absolute disgrace".


For luxury authentic products and services http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

Lululemon accuses Calvin Klein of infringing on design patents for yoga wear

Lululemon is accusing Calvin Klein and manufacturer G-III Apparel of infringing on design patents for the yoga and running-gear maker's "Astro" pants. Ashby Jones reports on the News Hub, reports The Wall Street Journal

Yoga-apparel maker Lululemon Athletica Inc. is accusing fashion house Calvin Klein Inc. of infringing on design patents for its popular $98 "Astro Pant" in a legal battle that could provide new ammunition for the industry to wield against copycats while bolstering Lululemon's dominant position in high-end yoga apparel.


Lululemon, in a complaint filed in federal court in Delaware last month, claims that Calvin Klein is selling pants that "have infringed and are still infringing" on three patents, including one for a distinctive waistband featuring overlapping panels of fabric. The company was awarded one of the patents last year, and the two others in June.


Lululemon accuses Calvin Klein of infringing on design patents for its yoga pants.

The yoga wear

Court Documents

The nine-page complaint, which also names as a defendant G-III Apparel Group Ltd., a Calvin Klein supplier, offers few other details. But intellectual-property law experts say the suit represents a novel approach at a time when there are few legal protections for designs on apparel.

The fashion industry has historically sought and been granted protection for limited aspects of their products, like trademarks on logos and brand names, which are recognised as their property. For instance, in a trademark dispute between French designers Christian Louboutin SA and Yves Saint Laurent, a unit of PPR SA, a federal court of appeals in New York last week ruled that Louboutin largely owns the exclusive right to use the color red to coat the bottoms of its high-heeled shoes.

But designers haven't had much success in protecting designs on fundamental articles of clothing, ones that might cover, say, the shape of a blouse or the cut of a collar on a shirt.

Generally speaking, copyright law protects forms of art, but not items that are predominantly functional, like shirts and pants. Recent congressional bills that would grant greater copyright protection to clothing designs have failed to advance.

Lululemon is trying to chart a new path by filing and litigating patents secured on the basis of its designs.

Such patents, called design patents, have "for too long been grossly under appreciated" by the fashion industry, said Perry Saidman, a design-law expert and lawyer in Silver Spring, Md.

Fashion designers have only sporadically gone to court over such patents. But slowly, design patents are coming into vogue across a widening number of industries. Apple Inc. made them a key part of its case in its recent legal victory over rival Samsung Electronics Co., in which a jury found that Samsung had copied Apple's designs.

"The time is right for this kind of effort," said Susan Scafidi, the founder of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University in New York and an advocate for greater protections for the industry. "These days, it's easier than ever to copy and market even the most innovative designs."

Lululemon's lawsuit also comes at a time when it is easier to get a design patent approved.

It used to take a year or more to secure one from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "By the time a patent issued, that season's designs would be out the door, and new ones would be coming in," said Ms. Scafidi. The PTO generally has become more efficient at reviewing design-patent applications, often taking just months from application to grant. A 2008 ruling from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, a specialised court largely focused on patents, made it easier for a design-patent holder to prove infringement.

Partly as a result, The number of design-patent applications awarded has increased significantly in recent years. Last year, the PTO issued 21,356 design patents, 65% more than the 12,951 it issued in 2005.

Since its founding 14 years ago, Lululemon has grown steadily alongside the yoga boom, selling pricey gear designed to stretch and support during downward dog and warrior pose. The company, which went public in 2007, took in $1 billion in revenue last year and has said it expects to top that in its current fiscal year with revenue in the range of $1.3 billion to $1.325 billion. In the fiscal second quarter that ended in July, the company booked revenue of $283 million, which represented a 33% increase over the same period in 2011.

A spokeswoman for Lululemon declined to comment on ongoing litigation. Calls to PVH Corp., which owns the Calvin Klein brand, weren't returned. Calls to G-III Apparel weren't returned.

Lawyers for Calvin Klein haven't yet filed any paperwork in the case, but legal experts say they will likely use a host of potentially damaging defences, including that Lululemon's patents should never have been granted in the first place.

Calvin Klein Pop Up Shop Toky

Indeed, some argue that granting such patents may cause more harm, than help, to the industry. "This whole notion that you'd grant a patent to anyone who adds a seam or two to a waistband is quite problematic," said Ilse Metchek, the president of the California Fashion Association, a trade group that represents some manufacturers, domestic and international garment suppliers, and others close to the fashion industry. "It's only going to create more litigation, and that's hardly something the fashion industry needs more of."

Others doubt whether a Lululemon will provide much of a boost to the industry, partly because design patents provide protection only against exact copies or near copies. "This is not going to be a panacea," said Kal Raustiala, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the co-author of "The Knockoff Economy," a recent book on intellectual property. "Design patents are a limited tool."

But any outcome that recognises Lululemon's patents could trigger a broader move by the fashion industry to bring its ideas to the PTO, and perhaps give the industry the control over its designs it has long wanted, other legal experts say.

"Design patents used to be in the backwaters of the patent system," said Christopher Carani, a design-law expert and lawyer in Chicago. "That's just not the case anymore."

For authentic luxury products & services visit http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

Content thank you; Ashby Jones

Prada CEO Says Fake Goods Aren’t Totally Bad

Patrizio Bertelli spoke on (24 May 2012) in Hong Kong with Bloomberg Television's Robyn Meredith on Expansion Plan, Pricing and his opinion on counterfeit fashion. 

Along with going into details about Adding 260 Shops in 3 Years on Demand From BRICs he remains confident about the Italian fashion house's growth prospects despite fears of a slowdown in demand for luxury goods, as the company posted a 59% rise in first-half net profit.

"We are aware of the negative market trend but, counting on the strength of our brands and our ability to pursue our objectives, we look forward with confidence to the near future without altering our strategy based on achieving our long-term growth targets," Mr. Bertelli said.

“We aim to speed up expansion by opening 100 stores this year, 80 stores each in 2013 and 2014 globally,” said Chief Executive Officer Patrizio Bertelli whose company opened 75 stores last year.

Demand for Prada leather goods and other items is rising even as China’s economic growth slows and Europe’s debt crisis weighs on consumer spending, Bertelli said. The company is benefiting from increasingly wealthy Chinese tourists who are fueling growth in Europe as it also targets markets in the Middle East, he said.

“We are expanding in Morocco, Istanbul, Beirut, Dubai and Qatar,” Bertelli said in an interview with Bloomberg Television conducted in Italian via a translator. “Brazil is also a big market we’re looking at.”

The expansion would increase the number of Prada outlets to 674 by adding to the 388 directly operated stores and 26 franchises it had as of January.

The so-called BRICs take their name from the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The 66-year-old chief executive also said the company plans to ramp up the presence of the Miu Miu designer wife Miuccia's brand, as it is “under-penetrated” in many countries.

Prada net profit totalled €286.4 million ($371.8 million) for the six months ended June 30, compared with €179.5 million a year earlier. Strong sales in the Asian-Pacific region contributed to the gain.

SHRUGGING OFF FEARS OF A LUXURY SLOWDOWN

Mr. Bertelli minimized concerns about the slowdown of the Chinese economy as a factor affecting Prada's revenues. "We all need to be less hysterical" about China's slowdown, he said speaking to analysts, because the limited decrease in growth recorded so far isn't so significant that it will affect the Italian fashion house's sales. "We're in a global world and we should not focus only on China," Mr. Bertelli said.

About the slowdown of the Chinese economy as a factor affecting Prada's revenues. "We all need to be less hysterical" about China's slowdown, he said speaking to analysts, because the limited decrease in growth recorded so far isn't so significant that it will affect the Italian fashion house's sales. "We're in a global world and we should not focus only on China," Mr. Bertelli said.

Prada's chief executive added that consumers in China are evolving and "need to be stimulated to spend."

In the past few months, the market has started preparing for a slowdown in growth in the luxury industry amid weakening demand in the sector's important Chinese market and an increasingly difficult economic situation in Europe.

But business in the Asian-Pacific region remained strong for Prada in the first half, with revenue increasing 45% compared with a year earlier. In Europe, revenue climbed 37%, supported by purchases by tourists from emerging markets.

Particularly, Prada recorded an increasing presence in Europe of tourists from Russia, India and Brazil as well as from Asia, Mr. Bertelli said.

Patrizio Bertelli 

Prada joins other luxury brands minimising concerns about a Chinese slowdown. Last month France's Hermès International RMS.FR -0.72%SCA said that it would raise its growth target after sales of its Birkin bags, silk scarves and other products in China climbed 25% in the company's second quarter from a year earlier.

Prada's overall first-half revenue increased 37% to €1.55 billion.

In a conference call with analysts, Mr. Bertelli also said that he expects good double-digit growth" at the end of the year compared with the previous year's result, although "we need to be cautious" considering the current economic climate. He said a price increase to cover fluctuations in exchange rates could be considered, but no other price intervention is planned.

SHRUGGING OFF FEARS OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS

While EBay Inc. (EBAY) was fined by France’s high appeals court for sales of counterfeit LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC) goods on its website, Bertelli shrugged off concerns that fake goods could hurt the company’s sales in markets such as China.

“Fake goods aren’t totally bad, at least it created jobs at some counterfeit factories,” said Bertelli. “We don’t want to be a brand that nobody wants to copy.”

For authentic luxury products & services visit http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net

To contact the reporter on this story: Vinicy Chan in Hong Kong

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Longid 

Additional Content thanks also The Wall Street Journal 

Chanel Ordered To Pay Out in Counterfeit Case!

Chanel, London

The luxury fashion house of CHANEL has been ordered Friday to pay £258,000 (€2000,000) knitwear company World Tricot as part of a long-running counterfeiting suit between the two brands.

French luxury house Chanel "counterfeit" a former subcontractor Lure, World Tricot, who continued seven years seven years to combat principle.

What makes this case interesting is World Tricot, one of Chanel's former suppliers, accused the French fashion house of copying one of its designs back in 2009 - a white crochet pattern. Putting the luxury fashion house the other side of the counterfeit fence, having been the subject of mass counterfeit targets.

The Court of Appeal found that the pattern of the jacket is "a slavish copy of the sample belonging to the World Tricot society" and that it was "founded to support the embroidery issue is a collective work created initiative within the company.

Workshops World Tricot Lure Company. Jacques Balthazard Archives

The founder of World Tricot, Carmen Colle, claimed since she recognized in the window of a Chanel boutique in Tokyo crochet pattern she had proposed to brand in 2004 but it was finally rejected, despite their initial enthusiasm.

"It was not a fight against Chanel but for the right of creative artisans," responded Mrs. Paste that could not hold back his tears discovering decision.

His lawyer Pascal Créhange welcomed "a judgment that will set a precedent": "It is a way of recognizing the creativity of all those who, in the shadow of their workshop, have imagination."


"It does justice to the small hands that have more expertise," added his colleague Ms. Hortense Bessière.

Chanel said in a statement that it had not yet decided on a possible appeal. The statement goes on to say, it always claimed to have "guided" World Tricot in creating the pattern.

World Tricot clothing, accusing Chanel cotnrefaçon, November 6, 2009 in Paris © AFP / File / Patrick Kovarik

"We have never faced a situation like this before, knowing that we work with around 400 suppliers. This very specific case does not reflect the quality of our relationships with our suppliers, "said Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel fashion business.

Combat Ms. Colle, who had managed to make a small business work reintegration of women in difficulty for the big names in haute couture, met many supporters in France.

The former host of neighbourhood could not help thinking Friday to "mess" of the seven years of litigation, "all doors closed" since she was attacked Chanel, she says. World Tricot is in liquidation.

At trial, the court sentenced him to pay Chanel World Tricot 400,000 euros compensation for breach of contract that bound them. The Court of Appeal rejected this time the subcontractor on this point.

Alure (Haute-Saône) where the adventure started World Tricot in the late 1980s, with the financial assistance of Abbe Pierre and Secours Catholique, Ms. Colle stimulus gradually a new workshop will present his first collection this week weekend in the small town of Franche-Comté.

In April 2010, a "charter of good practices" was signed between luxury homes and converters, to "rebuild relations" between contractors and subcontractors.

Reaction Chanel puts this case "very specific"

The fashion house Chanel relativized Friday appealed his conviction for infringement of a small subcontractor, World Tricot, after seven years of litigation, emphasising the new and "very specific" in this case.

"We have never faced a situation like this before, knowing that we work with around 400 suppliers. This very specific case does not reflect the quality of our relationships with our suppliers, "said Bruno Pavlovsky, head of the branch mode Chanel.

Chanel said they would decide "soon" whether or not it appeals to the Supreme Court.

"This story is bad. This is a misunderstanding concerning a sample hook and the first court had recognised our role in creation ", told AFP service communication Chanel.

"Chanel is working nearly 400 suppliers and most over 15 years, some for over 30 years," he added, noting that "the case with World Tricot is very specific, very technical and completely new ".

Chanel was pleased however to have prevailed on the issue of trade relations with Knitting World: The Paris Court of Appeal did not consider that Chanel had broken so offending trade links with World Tricot, contrary to the judgment of first instance. "It is important for our image with suppliers," said Chanel.

The house will still have to pay 200,000 euros in damages to World Tricot infringement.

In December 2011, the Paris Commercial Court had dismissed World Tricot on charges of forgery and was ordered to pay 200,000 euros in compensation to Chanel for "clear defamation" brand. But he was also sentenced to pay Chanel World Tricot 400,000 euros compensation for breach of contract that bound them.

Have we heard the last of this we think probably not. Have your say.

For luxury authentic products & services, visit http://www/luxuryonlinestore.net

Additional content thanks Lalsace France

Facebook:Advertisements for counterfeit goods are showing up on users Facebook pages

Police with seized counterfeit goods

The seizure of dozens of websites selling fake goods announced by federal authorities Thursday is the latest proof that online counterfeiters are employing ever more sophisticated tactics to lead consumers astray.

After a four-month probe called Project Copy Cat, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators shut down 70 sites designed to be mirror-images of real ones.

The fake sites purported to sell items such as official San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders jerseys, Louis Vuitton bags and upscale Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. They used Web addresses like "tiffanyandcojewelrysale.net" that could appear similar to the URLs of the true sites.

The sites even used images of Secure Sockets Layer certificates - often seen as a padlock logo - to trick customers into thinking they were financially secure and verified.

Businesses that trade in ersatz merchandise, from sports apparel to jewelry to DVDs, have long used the Internet to sell their wares. Stopping them has been like playing a game of whack-a-mole, said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.

But now counterfeiters are using technology with an increasing level of sophistication, which poses new problems for companies trying to protect their brands and shoppers trying to protect their wallets.

Facebook ads

A social-media marketer who is waging his own campaign to get Facebook to crack down harder on counterfeiters said he's catalogued 7,000 examples of ads for fake products on the social network. One he cited used images of 49ers legends Joe Montana and Jerry Rice to tout a "Cheap jersey, only $18."

"Why am I catching this and they're not?" said Eric Feinberg, creator of the ad hoc Fans AgainstKounterfeit Enterprise, or FAKE. "We're talking about two of the most iconic 49ers of all time getting used. If you want to be a publicly traded company, you have to have oversight, and there's no oversight here."

Feinberg said he did work for sports-related clients who used social media to get people talking about their products. But his work was stymied by Facebook ads that led to counterfeit sites based in China.

Facebook's ads use members' favorite topics, interests and "likes" to push more relevant ads to them. Feinberg said instead of finding a fake site by searching through Google, "This is searching me."

Masquerading as 'real deal'

The copycat trend is "alarming," said John Morton, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an investigative unit of the Department of Homeland Security.

"The fake sites and the real sites are almost indistinguishable," he said. "And the fake sites aren't offering obvious knockoffs. They are trying to masquerade as the real deal."

Sites that offered fake Major League Baseball merchandise were so realistic that a buyer would have to be familiar with a team's current roster of players to know they weren't real, he said.

The copycat sites didn't have abnormally low prices, one of the usual tell-tale signs. Instead, they offered goods or services that were "close to or near the legitimate prices," which would also give counterfeiters a higher profit margin, Morton said.

The goods ordered by undercover officers were shipped to the United States from other countries, and Morton said most of the fake sites were linked to China. No arrests have been made, although the investigation is continuing.

One step ahead?

Morton said the investigation did not focus on Facebook ads, but that's an area where New York social-media marketer Feinberg believes counterfeiters are already one step ahead of the law.

In January, he set up fake Facebook accounts to bait the counterfeiters and began seeing more ads. Some were comically obvious, like one for a pair of "Oakley 29 $" sunglasses.

And this week, his personal Facebook account received a "friend request" from a member named "Nflcn JerseysShop," which then posted links on his wall to a site in China that offered a variety of sports apparel.

Feinberg contacted Facebook last month to call attention to the sites, but received a letter that said the Menlo Park company could only act if it received a report from the authorized copyright or trademark owner.

"I want to know if Facebook is making revenue off this," Feinberg said.

Ad guidelines

A Facebook spokeswoman said the company acts immediately when notified of a problem ad.

In a statement, the company said it does "strive to create a trusted environment for our users and advertisers. We offer the ability for users to provide immediate feedback on our ads and encourage them to report anything they find offensive or misleading. We have a team dedicated to investigating ads and user complaints, and we will remove ads that users bring to our attention if they violate our ad guidelines."

Facebook is also a founding member - along with Google, Twitter, AOL and the Interactive Advertising Bureau - of the Ads Integrity Alliance, a group started last month to share information and develop policies to protect consumers from the kind of "malvertising" that FAKE complains about.

"It's enough of a problem that some of the biggest players in online advertising decided to get together," said Maxim Weinstein, the alliance's leader and president of the nonprofit group StopBadware.

"This would be bad for consumers and the industry if we got to the point where people say I don't trust online ads and I'm not going to click on them anymore," he said.

Content thank you: Benny Evangelista is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: bevangelista@sfchronicle.com

For authentic luxury products & services: http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net