A father-son pair were sentenced to jail time and ordered to pay $10.4 million in damages after using first-to-file trademark loopholes in various countries to open fake Supreme stores and sell their "legal fakes."
Michele Di Pierro and his son, Marcello, used their British holding company, International Brand Firm Ltd. (IBF), to file "Supreme" trademark registrations in San Marino, Italy, Indonesia, Singapore, and Spain. The Supreme Italia and Supreme Spain founders also opened Supreme stores in Europe and China, where they sold counterfeit merchandise.
Michele and Marcello were both found guilty of two counts of fraud and were ordered to pay Supreme owner VF Corporation $10.4 million. Judge Martin Beddoe called their business "brazen," "offensive" and filled with "dishonesty," while also stating the scheme "hijacked every facet of [Supreme's] identity and plagiarized it."
Michele called Supreme's lawsuit "a very grave and unjustified assault" and accused the company of launching "absurd, unfounded, and slanderous allegations of counterfeiting registered trademarks."
Michele Di Pierro will serve eight years in jail, while Marcello will serve three years.
Source: The Fashion Law
