Retailer pays for 'copying' design
A UK retail chain has agreed to pay £250,000 in damages and legal costs for selling shoes that emulated the designs of luxury brand Gina too closely.
Gina took action against the retailer, Moda in Pelle, after seeing shoes on its website that it said were copies of its designs.
Attila Kurdash, Gina's managing director, told The Times: "The scale and audacity of
the copying was such that we had to take hard, decisive action.
We spend considerable time and effort in developing and creating our original
designs. To have them copied like this is unacceptable. We have a
zero-tolerance policy when it comes to copies and will take action whenever
necessary."
Moda in Pelle has agreed to destroy 5,000 pairs of the offending shoes already on sale in its stores, and more in its distribution centre. But Stephen Buck, the owner of Moda in Pelle, has insisted that similarities between the shoes were accidental.
“However, we were advised by our solicitors that this action could have involved a huge legal cost and would distract management time from our mission of offering great shoes around the UK.
The Gina brand was established more than 50 years ago, after master shoemaker Mehmet Kurdash decided to launch a range of handmade glamorous footwear, named after his favourite actress, Gina Lollobrigida.
