LVMH

LVMH- Louis Vuitton

Andrea Djurovic, Ruyam Fettahoglu, Grace Hernandez

Foundation Louis Vuitton

The Foundation Louis Vuitton was founded in Paris in 2014 to drive a synthesis between art and luxury fashion.

Founded to promote creation, by showcasing art works of the 20th and 21st century.

Louis Vuitton has also partnered and funds a multitude of charity organizations; The most notable being:

UNICEF

Naked Heart Foundation

SOS Children

The Counterfeit Phenomenon

• Counterfeiting is the imitation of a product and unauthorized use of another's trademark (registered brand name, logo, scent, design, etc.)

• Counterfeit consumption is used as a gateway for organized crime enterprises to gain profits and has greatly shifted the global economy.

Darfur Case

Chewy Vuitton

The Agenda

Operation BLAC

A parody case involving the company that manufactures plush dog chew toys in form of Louis Vuitton replicas bags.

The case was ruled in favor of Haute Diggity Dog company

The rule stated that their items do not cause consumer confusion.

The piece shows a starved Darfur victim holding a Louis Vuitton bag and a toy dog

Louis Vuitton claimed a motion against the artist for infringing their design rights by using the distinctive LV pattern

The court ruled the unauthorized use of intellectual property rights in favor of Louis Vuitton

Operation BLAC: is a proposed educational initiative designed to enhance the public’s knowledge on the counterfeit phenomenon and expose the hideous truth of this black market.

Operation: BLAC- which is an acronym for “Beyond the Laws Against Counterfeit”- is a designed module that asks a reader a set of questions in a road map format.

• Brief Overview of Louis Vuitton
• Introduction to the Counterfeit Phenomenon
• Sourcing and Transit Countries
• Country Specific Analysis
• Cases on Infringement
• Conclusion

My Other Bag

Louis Vuitton has filed a complaint stating that MOB created, marketed, and sold designed canvas bags with a distinctive Louis Vuitton design.

Do you think counterfeit products are dangerous for you?

The items that counterfeiters and pirates produce are often substandard or even dangerous, posing health and safety risks to consumers.

NO

YES

Do you know who is involved in creating counterfeit products?

Italy

NO YES

A counterfeit product is often created in a sweatshop by children or illegal immigrants; in violation of child labour laws, anti-sweatshop laws and basic human rights.

Italy is considered as one of the top five transit countries, called “port- of-call” given its geographical location with the Far East in relation to other European countries and 1st in Europe as a producer of counterfeit good.

The counterfeiting industry in Italy could represent up to 110.000 full-time positions and a production value of 13.3 billion euros.

The United States

Conclusion

• Lack of criminal liability for counterfeiters
• Minor risk of exposure + high demand= flourishing criminal enterprises

• Where do these illicit luxury goods come from?

• How do they arrive to the United States?

• What protection do Trademark owners have?
• Lanham Act of 1946
• Title 35 of the U.S. Code

• Invisible Killer: E-Commerce

The cost of counterfeiting and piracy has reached an

approximate 250 billion dollars per year, destabilizing the global economy, and preventing innovation in the affected markets as well as the market competition.

Buying a counterfeit item is not “taking advantage of a good deal” but, exposes the consumer to legal and health risk and unknowingly funds the growing income of organized crime enterprises.

With an organized team of lawyers and law professionals based around the globe Louis Vuitton is very engaged in the long term battle against counterfeiting.

Sourcing Countries

Turkey

Louis Vuitton

Transit Countries

China-

• Produces and distributes two thirds of counterfeit goods (report by EC 2015).
• Remains as number one priority

Egypt, Greece, Ghana, India, Korea, Morocco, Malaysia, Turkey, Italy -

• Other producing countries for consumer and luxury goods.

Priority two countries include:

• India for pharmaceuticals
• Turkey for food distribution

Transit countries are responsible for: relabeling, manufacturing, and distributing counterfeit goods.

Items coming into Europe from the Far East and South East Asia transit through Egypt, Hong Kong, Morocco, Singapore, or the UAE.

Organized crime groups use Free Trade Zones to smuggle, label, and obscure the port of origin of illegal goods.

Cases on Infringement

Second-largest counterfeit product market in the world after China.

Manufacturing facilities and distribution networks occur in big cities: Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya.

The total market value of counterfeiting in Turkey is as much as $10.8 billion every year.

The Balkans (Serbia)

Infringement is the violation of a registered trademark pertaining to a specific entity or corporation.

Louis Vuitton has also been involved in parodies and art infringement cases.

Considered as fertile ground not only for transit but for the production and distribution of counterfeit goods as well.

Several countries in the region have established special computer crime units to facilitate the investigation of online counterfeit issues.

Rapid increase of internet sales.

There is no precise data of the total value of the counterfeit.

Louis Vuitton is a French fashion house, established in 1854, that specializes in leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, luxury trunks and sunglasses.

Louis Vuitton has faced problems with counterfeiting since the very early days that led to the creation of the distinctive monogram in 1896.

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