US wholesaler Costco is facing a $19.4m (\u00a315m) bill for damages after jewellery chain Tiffany sued it for infringing its trademark by selling “Tiffany” engagement rings.<\/p>\n
The ruling by a US district judge is the latest twist in a long-running legal battle going back to 2013.<\/p>\n
Costco, which is to appeal against the decision, argues that “Tiffany” is now a generic term for the rings.<\/p>\n
But it has now been told it must call them “Tiffany-style” instead.<\/p>\n
The dispute centres on the sale of solitaire-style rings, comprising a diamond mounted on a single band with six prongs.<\/p>\n
Costco, which had sold 2,500 of them, put them on display with the label “Tiffany”, although they were not in fact made by the jeweller.<\/p>\n
An earlier court ruling in October 2016 ordered Costco to pay $5.5m in compensatory damages and $8.25m in punitive damages.<\/p>\n
But in a further court decision on Monday, the compensation was increased to $11.1m, while the amount of punitive damages still stands.<\/p>\n
Kate Swaine, a partner at law firm Gowling WLG, said: “This damages award may seem excessive given that only 2,500 products were sold, but if it can be argued that an infringement is blatant and where it relates to such a well-known brand, the claimant is entitled to seek punitive damages.<\/p>\n
“Brand owners will welcome this decision as an indication of the risk that third parties run in trying to make associations with famous brands.”<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"