Italy's Moncler wins landmark China counterfeit case

Italian luxury jacket manufacturer Moncler said Monday it had won major damages from a Beijing-based counterfeiter in what it described a landmark application of new Chinese trademark legislation.

Moncler, best known for its ultra-pricey, down-filled puffa jackets, said the Intellectual Property Court in the Chinese capital had awarded it three million yuan (420,000 euros, $470,000) in damages as a result of trademark infringements by a company called Beijing Nuoyakate Gourmet.

"This is a ground-breaking case, believed to be the first judgment under China's new Trademark Law to grant maximum statutory damages," Moncler said in a statement.

The company, which has its roots in France but is now Italian-owned, said it had discovered in 2013 that Nuoyakate was manufacturing and selling down jackets with counterfeit Moncler logos and that the Chinese group had attempted to register several fake trdemarks and domain names in China and elsewhere.

Moncler, whose upmarket clientele ranges from rappers to royalty, hailed the ruling as a victory for its anti-counterfeit operation which it said had resulted in the investigation of more than 1,450 cases worldwide last year, leading to the seizure of more than 450,000 suspect items.