Italian fashion house Gucci is suing two Chinese companies,
claiming that they infringed its trademark, a Beijing court
spokesman said on Thursday.
Guccio Gucci S.P.A. was suing Shanghai Basto Shoes Co. Ltd. and
the Beijing Hualian Hypermarket Co. Ltd. at the Beijing Municipal
No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, the spokesman said.
Gucci is demanding that the two defendants immediately stop
manufacturing and selling ladies shoes carrying a logo very similar
to that of Gucci -- a registered trademark featuring an
interlocking "GG" pattern.
The Italian company was also seeking compensation totaling
500,000 yuan (US$66,666) from the two Chinese firms, he said.
Gucci said it found the ladies shoes being sold at a Hualian
outlet in January. A Gucci agent bought a pair for evidence
preservation, which had been notarized.
Gucci argued that Shanghai Basto had "apparent subjective
malice" in infringing on the exclusive rights owned by Gucci, while
Beijing Hualian also constituted trademark infringement in selling
the shoes.
Gucci said it had also found the Senda Group Co. Ltd. in east
China's Jiangsu Province, the parent company of
Shanghai Basto, had used the interlocking "GG" logo exactly the
same as that of Gucci, but the company did not sue the Jiangsu
company, but no reason was given.
The Beijing court will try the case later. The spokesman would
not give an exact date.
(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2007)
