A well-known fashion company has filed suit against the owners of a knock-off brand, saying they attempted to sell fake merchandise under the company’s name, tarnishing the company’s reputation.
Chanel Inc. filed suit July 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas against Han Woon Liew, also known as Peter Wang, and Weida Chen.
According to the complaint, defendant Liew has been selling items that prertend to be Chanel products, infringing on United States trademark registrations.
On May 1, Liew was arrested for selling counterfeit merchandise, the lawsuit states. In connection with Liew’s arrest, authorities seized various necklaces, rings, pendants, bracelets, sunglasses, scarves, hair clips, earrings, fragrances and embossing stamp heads, according to the complaint.
Liew was never authorized to sell Chanel merchandise, the complaint says. In fact, his items were of a very different quality than Chanel’s, the company claims.
Chanel is seeking injunctive relief prohibiting Liew from using the Chanel Marks to sell merchandise, from engaging in any other activity constituting unfair competition with Chanel, from engaging in any other activity that will dilute the distinctiveness of the Chanel marks and from committing any other act that falsely represents Chanel’s goods.
It also seeks an order directing Chanel to recall and to destruct all remaining inventory of the counterfeit products, plus an order directing Liew to disclose their suppliers and manufacturers, an order accounting of all gains and profits and an order directing Liew to file a report in which Liew complied with the injunction.
Chanel is also seeking any profits Liew derived from using the Chanel marks, plus costs and attorneys’ fees or, in the alternative, statutory damages of up to $2 million per trademark counterfeited and infringed. Further, it seeks profits and punitive damages, plus other relief the court deems just.
It is being represented by attorneys Brent H. Blakely and Cindy Chan of Blakely Law Group in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas case number: 4:14-cv-1932
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it represents only one side of the story.