Some six months after Tous — the Spanish design house known for its emblematic teddy bear — filed a civil suit against Puerto Rican businesses and individuals for allegedly selling counterfeits of its products, the U.S. District Court in San Juan issued a combined $925,000 in fines against 37 defendants in the case.
Tous — the Spanish design house known for its emblematic teddy bear — has filed a civil suit against 177 Puerto Rican businesses and individuals that have been allegedly selling counterfeit versions of its products, an illegal activity that has significantly undercut its local sales, News is my Business has learned.
Many people believe that by purchasing a fake Rolex or an uncanny similar pair of Gucci sunglasses, there’s no harm done whatsoever. Otherwise law-abiding citizens do not consider the implications of purchasing a knock-off version of a branded product.
A total of 37 defendants in the copyright infringement case filed by pop Artist Romero Britto earlier this month will have to pay a combined $205,000 in fines, imposed by the judge overseeing the case after failing to reach an out-of-court settlement agreement.
Some 87 retailers and wholesalers doing business in Puerto Rico that were sued in September for selling counterfeit Romero Britto items are facing what could be significant finds for not coming forward to negotiate, the lead attorney in the pop artist’s lawsuit, Dora Peñagarícano, told News is my Business.
The attorney for Pop Artist Romero Britto said Thursday that about 60 of the defendants sued nearly eight weeks ago for copyright and trademark infringement violations are in talks to settle the damages they have caused the Miami-based company.
Pop Artist Romero Britto is looking to eliminate thousands of counterfeit items bearing his bright and colorful copyrighted designs from the Puerto Rico market through a federal civil lawsuit filed against nearly 200 local wholesalers and retailers for copyright and trademark infringement. In the complaint filed on Aug. 31, the artist seeks millions in damages.
Things are not always what they seem, and in the case of counterfeit drugs, knowing the difference between what’s real and what isn’t could be a matter of life and death. With that in mind, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer launched an educational campaign this week to teach Puerto Rican consumers about the negative side of counterfeit medications, whose production and use is a growing global trend.
A Dow Jones/Factiva content provider since 2014
Subscribe to our Dollars & Sense podcast!
NIMB ON SOCIAL MEDIA