Arent Fox Fashion & Retail Team Guides Valentino and Amazon Through Joint Litigation

Arent Fox’s Fashion & Retail group, led by Partners Anthony V. Lupo, Michelle Mancino Marsh, and Katie Heilman, are representing Maison Valentino Italian and Amazon.com in a joint lawsuit against Kaitlyn Pan Group, LLC and New York resident Hao Pan for unauthorized sales of copies of the iconic Valentino Garavani Rockstud shoes. The Group offered the products for sale on both their company site and Amazon.com.

With the help of Arent Fox’s legal team, Valentino has implemented a Customs Surveillance System in the US that enforces Intellectual Property Rights, resulting in the seizing over 2,000 counterfeit products over the last three years. Valentino has taken legal action against many online and offline sellers for counterfeit designs, as well as enforcing Online Brand Protection through online platforms, including social media accounts, selling counterfeit products.

“The Maison Valentino is one of the main protagonists of International fashion and plays a major role in the luxury division by sustaining Made in Italy,” Valentino said in a statement. “The brand represents in the global market, one of the Italian excellences in the execution of the industrial process in Italy and of the artisanal and handmade workmanship that are entirely produced in the historic Atelier of Piazza Mignanelli in Rome.”

In Amazon and Valentino’s joint press release, Amazon stated that “this joint lawsuit builds on Amazon’s history of collaborating with brands to hold counterfeiters accountable. Amazon strictly prohibits counterfeit products and, in 2019 alone, invested more than $500 million and had more than 8,000 employees protecting its store from fraud and abuse, including counterfeiting and IP infringing products.”

“The vast majority of sellers in our store are honest entrepreneurs but we do not hesitate to take aggressive action to protect customers, brands, and our store from counterfeiters. Amazon and Valentino are holding this company accountable in a court of law and we appreciate Valentino’s collaboration throughout this investigation,” said Dharmesh Mehta, vice president, Customer Trust and Partner Support.

Read Valentino and Amazon’s joint press release here.

Arent Fox has the largest fashion and retail legal group of any major US firm. Our team advises fashion and design houses, apparel manufacturers and retailers, and luxury goods companies. Our fashion attorneys act as outside general counsel and regulatory and retail counsel for a number of well-known designer brands such as Diane von Furstenberg, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Lacoste, Hugo Boss, Diesel, Fila, Marni, YSL, Balenciaga, Benetton, Escada, and Victoria's Secret.

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