CHINA. Swedish beauty and tech specialist Foreo is setting the tone for the war against fake products through a string of wins against counterfeiters.
In 2019, an “unprecedented” ruling in Shanghai saw Foreo collect compensation of CNY3 million (US$454,000). It was, according to the brand, the largest counterfeit-related payout in design patent infringement in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court.
“Make no mistake. The big business of fakes is a profitable one, and one that Foreo wishes to see shut down.”
According to Foreo, the company has “kept the ball rolling with continuous wins in court, setting the tone for the war against counterfeiters, and providing a light at the end of the tunnel to other brands who suffer the same issue”.
Foreo highlighted the lucrative counterfeiting business. “Make no mistake. The big business of fakes is a profitable one, and one that Foreo wishes to see shut down,” the company said.
In Q1, Foreo received favourable judgement in the first instance of litigation against K.SKIN (金稻). Hangzhou Yuhang District People’s Court stated that the defendants were liable to indemnify Foreo for CNY4.3 million (US$651,000) in economic losses.
The same court ruled again in Foreo’s favour in March, in a case against Ofila (小飞象), with compensation totalling CNY900,000 (US$136,000) for the same cause. Last month, Foreo scored another win in the Zhejiang High People’s Court, with Feimooi ordered to pay Foreo CNY 500,000 (US$75,700) for economic losses.
In 2021 Foreo’s war against counterfeiting involved 13 cases, leading to four criminal and nine administrative cases.
Over 50,000 infringing products were seized, alongside 530,000 pieces of packaging and 15,500 silicone moulds. The case value for all was CNY18.5 million (US$2.8 million), with a total compensation of CNY1,065,000 (US$161,000). Five suspects were detained.
Foreo Global Legal Director Kelsay Tang said: “The Unfair Competition Law amended in 2019 has played an important role in the anti-copy actions we have taken in the past three years.
“This rang especially true in March 2022, when the Supreme People’s Court of China released the interpretation on several issues concerning the application of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. This will reward Foreo with an even better chance to take down copycats in the future.”
Foreo Global Travel Retail Director Gary Leong added: “These consistent wins in the war against criminal counterfeiting not only assist us in protecting the good name of our brand, but lead the way for other brands who are making the same efforts.”
Foreo pointed out that fighting counterfeiting is “not only to protect the brand, but also to protect its customers”.
“Brands have no control over the quality of the counterfeits being produced, and with less than stringent hygiene standards and factory conditions, counterfeits can no doubt be harmful to those who purchase them.”
The company said its success in fighting fake product production and distribution could not have been possible without the support of the domestic China legal framework.
“On 1 January 2019, China’s new ecommerce law came into effect, which applies to ecommerce operators such as Taobao, third-party merchants, and online vendors with their own websites. The new law brings pressure to online retailers to fight counterfeit and copy-cat products, as well as giving protection to intellectual property.
“Counterfeit or pirated products create an enormous drain on the economy, and despite numerous and expensive efforts by legal bodies and companies themselves, the act still runs rampant. With Foreo’s efforts to stamp out such actions receiving promising results, the bar is no doubt set for other brands wishing to follow in their footsteps.”
Note: Every fortnight The Moodie Davitt Report publishes Hainan Curated, in association with Foreo, a selection of all recent stories from the offshore duty free sector in Hainan province.
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