Intellectual Property Law

Counterfeiting in Seattle: Need a Logo on that Kate Spade Purse?

By Michael Atkins

The Seattle PI today ran a story about counterfeiting in Seattle. It said local police and federal agents last year served search warrants on 10 homes and businesses in one case and seized $242,000 and 7,873 alleged fakes from seven suspects. Not a bad haul.

I particularly like this account of undercover sleuthing: “Describing an undercover operation at a store owned by a man who later saw $180,000 seized, the detective said investigators found that most of the bags for sale there did not have tags sewn on. But, he alleged in court documents, the proprietor offered to add the tags when undercover officers moved to make a purchase.

”’(An undercover officer) asked the worker if the handbag on the wall was a ‘Kate Spade,” the detective said in court documents. ‘The worker stated that the handbag was in fact a ‘Kate Spade’ and that he could sell it to her. However, he needed to sew on a ‘Kate Spade’ logo for her.’”

Full post as published by Seattle Trademark Lawyer on August 25, 2009 (boomark / email).