Alexander Wang wins $90 million intellectual property case against counterfeiters

A legal case brought by fashion label Alexander Wang against 45 independent respondents accused of the sale of fake branded goods carrying the company’s name, was today awarded damages of $90 million by a US district court.

The fashion label is unlikely to be awarded the full amount however, because many of the 45 accused respondents remain anonymous. In total they were accused of operating 459 fraudulent domains, with much of the litigation conducted without them present.

The news comes as a victory for the enforcement of intellectual property rights, after a string other recent industry-wide accusations, recognising the damage that practices such as counterfeiting and cybersquatting (registering, operating or trafficking in a purposefully similar or trademarked name in bad faith) can do to a brand and its works.

The win comes after Alexander Wang’s signing of the amicus brief in support of Apple’s US Supreme Court case against Samsung, alongside a host of other industry names.

In 2012, Alexander Wang was filed against for nine claims of $50 million, under allegations of running a sweatshop in Chinatown, Manhattan breaching labour conditions and improper dismissal of staff. The civil action suit, and its nine charges were reported by Huffington Post to have been settled quietly out of court.