LV alleged in the suit, which was lodged in mid-September and had a case conference on Tuesday, that a ValueMax Retail outlet on Yishun Street had earlier sold or offered to sell two pieces of jewelry bearing signs that were identical or similar to at least one of its trademarks, as reported by The Business Times.
The French luxury house accused the retailer of infringing on its trademark rights and misrepresenting the items as LV products or suggesting that there was an economic association or relationship between the items and the brand.
It claimed to have suffered or is likely to suffer loss and damage as a result and sought statutory damages for the infringements, which are capped at S$100,000 (US$77,380) per type of goods or services involved and S$1 million in total, unless actual losses exceeding that amount can be proven.
It also demanded the delivery and forfeiture of all goods and materials, as well as full disclosure of information connected to the alleged counterfeits.
A Louis Vuitton Christmas shop display is pictured along Orchard Road in Singapore, Dec. 4, 2024. Photo by Reuters |
In its response to the suit, ValueMax Retail said it deals in pre-owned gold and precious stone jewelry and branded watches and bags, which it sources from a range of sellers including consumers, pawnshops and other second-hand dealers.
It described the outlet accused of selling counterfeits as a pawnshop with sales counters and denied all accusations.
ValueMax Retail is a wholly owned unit of ValueMax Group, a Singapore-listed firm that operates in pawnbroking and secured lending in addition to its pre-owned jewelry and gold business, according to group’s website.
The group runs 50 outlets nationwide and a further 27 stores in Malaysia through associated companies, its 2024 annual report shows.
Earlier this year, LV won a similar lawsuit against a Singapore-based Instagram seller who passed off counterfeit LV products as genuine and was awarded S$200,000 in damages, according to The Straits Times.
The fake products included phone cases, card holders and purses that were sold at a fraction of their official prices.
Another notable trademark-related case also made the headline in September, when U.S. retail giant Target launched opposition proceedings against Singaporean bag brand Aupen’s trademark registration in the U.S., as reported by Channel News Asia.
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