Harry Styles filed a lawsuit this week against a group of nondescript e-commerce stores that sell unauthorized or unlicensed products using the British pop star’s registered trademarks.
In a new suit filed in Illinois federal court on Tuesday, Styles states that the success of his brand has resulted in “significant” counterfeiting of his trademarks, which has led him to launch an anti-counterfeiting program which regularly investigates suspicious e-commerce stores identified in proactive Internet sweeps and reported by consumers.
This lead to the Gucci ambassador to discover this group of stores (the suit is calling “Seller Aliases”) and alleges in the complaint that the individuals and businesses that operate these specific stores reside or operate in China or other foreign jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems, or redistribute products from the same or similar sources in those locations.
These products are then sold on marketplace platforms such as eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Amazon, Wish.com, Walmart, Etsy and DHgate (the suit calls “Third Party Providers”), where consumers in the United States can purchase the counterfeit goods, the complaint added.
Ultimately, Styles claims he has been, and continues to be, “irreparably damaged” through consumer confusion, dilution, and tarnishment of his valuable trademarks as a result of the sale of these counterfeits and seeks injunctive and monetary relief.
Styles is asking the court to order these third-party providers to “disable and cease displaying” any of the counterfeit merchandise, while restraining the counterfeiters to cease reproducing Harry Styles trademarks.
Styles is also seeking $2 million in statutory damages for each and every use of his trademarks, as well as all profits realized from the sale of these counterfeit items.
This lawsuit files a similar case last month where Justin Bieber called out H&M for selling unauthorized merchandise using his likeness. The pop star took to Instagram stories, calling out the retailer: “I didn’t approve any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M,” Bieber wrote. “All without my permission and approval. SMH I wouldn’t buy it if I were you.”
While H&M said it followed the correct protocols when it came to licensing Bieber merchandise, the company announced that it would be removing the items from sale. A spokesperson said in a statement: “H&M has followed all proper approval procedures, as we have done in this case, but out of respect for the collaboration and Justin Bieber, we have removed the garments from selling.”
