Salvatore Ferragamo's ongoing battle against counterfeiting

During it continuous fight against the fake goods industry, where the Internet has become the main channel for trading counterfeit items, Italian luxury goods company Salvatore Ferragamo has managed to block 345 websites selling counterfeit goods and recover 91 domain names.

According to a recent study, funded by government body officials and put together by IPR specialist Convey, the counterfeit goods industry is costing Italian accessories companies nearly 400 million euros per year. The study estimated that between 190-240 million euros is lost to the Italian footwear sector each year, while between 100-150 million euros is lost to the premium eyewear sector.

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Salvatore Ferragamo Group, which specializes in footwear, leather goods, ready-to-wear lines for men and women and licenses eyewear and watches, has been embroiled in series of global fights against counterfeiting, which thanks to the continuous involvement from local and international legislators, has been for the most part successful.

Salvatore Ferragamo comes down hard on online counterfeiters

Over the past few months, the Salvatore Ferragamo group has filed and won a series of lawsuits against online counterfeiters and managed to block 345 websites which were used to lure in international consumers who were likely to purchase fake goods. The company has also managed to recover 91 domain names that were using the "Ferragamo" name falsely to advertise their goods. Salvatore Ferragamo has also managed to block the counterfeiters Paypal accounts, so no further orders can be placed.

Now, any potential buyers who visit one of the fake domains is automatically forward to a legitimate website controlled by the Italian company, which warns visitors of the false site and links them to an authorized distributor of Salvatore Ferragamo.

Furthermore, the company is currently surveying and monitoring 33 e-commerce platforms, which operate globally, and has removed 79 percent of auctions selling counterfeit items. The seizure and removal of fake goods from the online market was worth over 2.1 million euros; the equivalent original value of products from the company itself was worth over 10.9 million euros.

"We have also recently begun taking action in China, where we have already won a civil case against a high-end hotel, whose store sold counterfeit products. Furthermore, we were able to have more than 15 thousand counterfeit products seized and destroyed, and we have won 10 criminal cases," commented Ferruccio Ferragamo, chairman of the Salvatore Ferragamo Group.

The company is also involved in an important 'offline' lawsuits against domain owners and counterfeit suppliers. Recently the New York Southern District Court, where the Italian brand had previously filed a lawsuit against 15 individuals who held a total of 95 infringing domain names and traded fake goods, ruled in Salvatore Ferreagamo favor and awarded the company damages of over 2.93 million euros.

Nevertheless the impact of counterfeiting goods on Italian accessories continues to be felt, with the largest threat to the industry still coming from e-commerce platforms and counterfeiters operating out of Asia. The study found that the value of counterfeited goods seized by Italian authorities across a number of sectors such as jewelry, leather goods, footwear and eyewear in 2012 was 208 million euros. Adding that amount to the value of fake goods seized over the last five years, comes just short of 2 billion euros.

But the Salvatore Ferragamo Group remain amendment in their battle to stop counterfeiters. "We will continue to wage war against counterfeiting in 2014, with the same deep commitment and determination, intensifying controls and strengthening measures, even at customs authorities," concludes Ferruccio Ferragamo.

Photos: Salvatore Ferragamo SS 14 collection