Fred Perry settles fake jumpers case with The Hut

FASHION brand Fred Perry has settled a dispute with fast-growing North West e-tailer The Hut.com Limited over the sale of a number of counterfeit jumpers.

The Hut, which says this incident is the first in its nine-year history, sold the clothes bearing the words ‘FRED PERRY’ and the Laurel Wreath logo – both registered trademarks of Fred Perry, on a number of its websites  including www.thehut.com, www.zavvi.com, www.sendit.com and via its outlets on eBay and Amazon.

The Hut.com Limited accepted that it had infringed Fred Perry’s trademark rights by offering for sale and selling counterfeit garments, and as part of the settlement paid damages and legal costs to Fred Perry and agreed not to sell such infringing garments in future.
 
Fred Perry was advised in the matter by Manchester lawyer Roy Crozier, an Intellectual Property partner at Clarke Willmott..

A spokesman for Fred Perry stated: “We are extremely proud of our heritage and iconic Laurel Wreath logo. We will not hesitate to enforce our intellectual property rights when they are infringed and we will continue to take action against the sellers and manufacturers of counterfeit versions of our garments.”

Roy Crozier added: “The message to all retailers is clear in that Fred Perry has unshakeable resolve in ensuring that its intellectual property rights are enforced and that they should take all necessary steps to ensure the provenance of the goods which they offer for sale.”

Northwich-based The Hut said the issue lay with one of its European suppliers. It is understood retailer sold more than 1,000 of the jumpers for over £40,000.

It added: “The Hut Group has robust sourcing procedures in place across its entire brand portfolio and the Fred Perry matter is the first and only instance in nearly 10 years of trading where it has sold non-authentic product.

“Whilst the number of products sold was minimal the group takes the protection of intellectual property rights very seriously and immediately worked with Fred Perry to resolve the issue.

“Luxory Outlet S.R.L. (parent company FI International S.R.L.), the distributor responsible for selling the non-authentic jumpers to The Hut Group, has accepted full responsibility and liability and has agreed to refund all costs incurred by The Hut Group.”

The company added: “The Hut Group is a both a brand owner and third party brand reseller of over 1,000 brands and vigorously protects intellectual property rights, and accordingly, is pleased that the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of both Fred Perry and The Hut Group.”

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