Gucci, Facebook file joint lawsuit against alleged counterfeiter

Altex Industries

27/04/2021 05:01

MILAN, April 27 (Reuters) - Gucci and Facebook  FB.O  have
filed a joint lawsuit in California against an individual who
allegedly used the U.S. group's social media platforms to sell
fake Gucci products, the two companies said on Tuesday.
    The initiative, a first of its kind for both Gucci and
Facebook, is the latest example of an Internet giant joining
forces with a luxury label to fight the proliferation of
counterfeit goods being sold via social media. 
    Amazon  AMZN.O  has filed similar lawsuits over the past
year with Valentino and Ferragamo  SFER.MI .
    In a statement, Gucci - the profit engine of French group
Kering  PRTP.PA  - and Facebook alleged the unidentified
defendant used multiple Facebook and Instagram accounts to
promote her international online counterfeit business.
    Online sales of luxury handbags, shoes and garments have
boomed over the past year as the coronavirus pandemic forced
retailers to temporarily close their stores. 
    Groups like Facebook are keen to make a bigger push into the
luxury market and "social commerce", but to do so they need to
show that their platforms are not a conduit for counterfeiting
and are safe for brands, some of which are reluctant to sell
their products through third-party players.
    "More than one million pieces of content were removed from
Facebook and Instagram in the first half of 2020, based on
thousands of reports of counterfeit content from brand owners,
including Gucci," the statement said.
    It added that in 2020 alone the actions of Gucci's in-house
intellectual property team had resulted in four million on-line
counterfeit product listings being taken down, the seizure of
4.1 million counterfeit products, and 45,000 websites, including
social media accounts, being disabled.

 (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi. Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((silvia.aloisi@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 66129 723; Reuters
Messaging: silvia.aloisi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))