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Fendi wins $2.5 mn lawsuit against Filene's
28 Jun '10
3 min read
Fendi Adele S.R.L., Fendi S.r.l., and Fendi North America, Inc., announced that it has reached a settlement in which it has received a payment of $2.5 million to resolve its 2006 lawsuit charging the Filene's Basement chain, which later filed for bankruptcy, and its parent company during the relevant time period, Retail Ventures Inc (“RVI”), with purchasing and selling counterfeit Fendi products.
In addition to the $2.5 million payment from the FB Liquidating Estate, RVI entered into a permanent injunction on consent that has been entered as an order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The permanent injunction bans RVI from selling any Fendi branded products without Fendi's prior written authorization. The settlement agreement further requires that the defendants turn over to Fendi all Fendi branded products in their possession for disposal by Fendi. The FB Liquidating Estate has made an additional $50,000 payment for advertisements announcing the settlement agreement to run in WWD, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Michael Burke, Chairman and CEO of Fendi, said, “Fendi takes very seriously the responsibility we have to protect our brand, our trademarks and our customers. Retailers must recognize and uphold their obligation to verify their sourcing and sell only authentic goods. The Filene's/RVI settlement ensures that the burden of ascertaining authenticity rests squarely where it should—with the retailer. The resolution of this case was complicated, of course, by the Filene's bankruptcy filing, but Fendi successfully persevered. We will continue to take action to protect our intellectual property around the world.”
The Filene's/RVI settlement agreement and injunction follow other recent victories in Fendi's anti-counterfeiting efforts, examples of which include a $4.7 million contempt judgment against Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse, a separate summary judgment against Burlington for willful counterfeiting for an amount now being quantified by the court, and a settlement announced with Big M, Inc. d/b/a Annie Sez.
Fendi is represented in the Filene's Basement, Burlington and in other anti-counterfeiting cases by Richard Mattiaccio at Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP, New York.
The Filene's/RVI settlement resolves the lawsuit Fendi Adele S.r.l., et al. v. Filene's Basement, Inc. and Retail Ventures, Inc., 06 Civ. 244 (RMB)(MHD), filed by Fendi on January 12, 2006 in the Southern District of New York, in which Fendi asserted that the defendants committed acts constituting trademark counterfeiting, false designation of origin and trademark dilution, as well as related state statutory and common law trademark violations, in connection with the sale of items bearing certain trademarks owned by Fendi. On March 11, 2010, Federal District Judge Richard Berman, issued a Decision and Order granting Fendi's motion for summary judgment as to defendants' affirmative defenses and as to Fendi's claims against Filene's Basement of trademark counterfeiting and false designation of origin under the Lanham Act, common law unfair competition, and trademark dilution, denying defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment; and permanently enjoining the Filene's Basement defendant under section 34(a) of the Lanham Act from purchasing, offering for sale, or selling any item bearing the word “Fendi” and/or any of Fendi's registered trademarks without Fendi's express written permission.
Founded in Rome in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi as a leather bag and fur workshop, Fendi is today one of the world's most renowned luxury lifestyle brands with collections ranging from ready to wear to home furniture and an international distribution network of 190 boutiques. Appreciated the world over for its quality, creativity and distinctive style which blends innovation with tradition, Fendi has been part of the LVMH Group since 2000.
In addition to the $2.5 million payment from the FB Liquidating Estate, RVI entered into a permanent injunction on consent that has been entered as an order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The permanent injunction bans RVI from selling any Fendi branded products without Fendi's prior written authorization. The settlement agreement further requires that the defendants turn over to Fendi all Fendi branded products in their possession for disposal by Fendi. The FB Liquidating Estate has made an additional $50,000 payment for advertisements announcing the settlement agreement to run in WWD, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Michael Burke, Chairman and CEO of Fendi, said, “Fendi takes very seriously the responsibility we have to protect our brand, our trademarks and our customers. Retailers must recognize and uphold their obligation to verify their sourcing and sell only authentic goods. The Filene's/RVI settlement ensures that the burden of ascertaining authenticity rests squarely where it should—with the retailer. The resolution of this case was complicated, of course, by the Filene's bankruptcy filing, but Fendi successfully persevered. We will continue to take action to protect our intellectual property around the world.”
The Filene's/RVI settlement agreement and injunction follow other recent victories in Fendi's anti-counterfeiting efforts, examples of which include a $4.7 million contempt judgment against Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse, a separate summary judgment against Burlington for willful counterfeiting for an amount now being quantified by the court, and a settlement announced with Big M, Inc. d/b/a Annie Sez.
Fendi is represented in the Filene's Basement, Burlington and in other anti-counterfeiting cases by Richard Mattiaccio at Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP, New York.
The Filene's/RVI settlement resolves the lawsuit Fendi Adele S.r.l., et al. v. Filene's Basement, Inc. and Retail Ventures, Inc., 06 Civ. 244 (RMB)(MHD), filed by Fendi on January 12, 2006 in the Southern District of New York, in which Fendi asserted that the defendants committed acts constituting trademark counterfeiting, false designation of origin and trademark dilution, as well as related state statutory and common law trademark violations, in connection with the sale of items bearing certain trademarks owned by Fendi. On March 11, 2010, Federal District Judge Richard Berman, issued a Decision and Order granting Fendi's motion for summary judgment as to defendants' affirmative defenses and as to Fendi's claims against Filene's Basement of trademark counterfeiting and false designation of origin under the Lanham Act, common law unfair competition, and trademark dilution, denying defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment; and permanently enjoining the Filene's Basement defendant under section 34(a) of the Lanham Act from purchasing, offering for sale, or selling any item bearing the word “Fendi” and/or any of Fendi's registered trademarks without Fendi's express written permission.
Founded in Rome in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi as a leather bag and fur workshop, Fendi is today one of the world's most renowned luxury lifestyle brands with collections ranging from ready to wear to home furniture and an international distribution network of 190 boutiques. Appreciated the world over for its quality, creativity and distinctive style which blends innovation with tradition, Fendi has been part of the LVMH Group since 2000.
Fendi Adele S.R.L.
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