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Fashion giant sues Flea Market
4/26/2010 12:00:00 AM
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CONCORD — One of the world's most prominent fashion accessory companies is suing the Grand View Flea Market in Derry for letting vendors sell knockoff merchandise.
Coach Inc., makers of high-end handbags, scarves and other fashion accessories, filed a lawsuit last week against flea market owner Martin Taylor, Gata Corporation — his company — and 20 unidentified vendors.
The lawsuit is one of about 170 Coach has filed around the country, according to Nancy Axilrod, general counsel for Coach Inc.
"The recent lawsuit filed in New Hampshire is part of Coach's international anti-counterfeit campaign, titled Operation Turn-lock," Axilrod said Friday. "Coach has filed over 170 lawsuits since its inception approximately a year ago."
The company has been awarded damages in the high six figures for some of its previous litigation, Axilrod said. The lawsuit against Grand View doesn't specify how much Coach is seeking, but it exceeds $75,000, according to court documents.
During a raid of the flea market on June 6, 2009, a total of 13,278 counterfeit items were seized. More than 7,500 of those items bore phony Coach emblems and designs, according to the lawsuit. The company contacted Taylor about the counterfeit merchandise, but it continued to be sold, the lawsuit alleges.
In March, a private investigator hired by Coach allegedly purchased knockoffs from four different vendors at the flea market. The lawsuit cites dozens of registered trademarks that Coach claims were used illegally.
Coach spends more than $100 million a year advertising and promoting its products, according to the court complaint, written by attorney Kelly Martin Malone of Adler Pollock and Sheehan in Providence, R.I.
"The Coach trademarks have achieved tremendous fame and recognition that has added the inherent distinctiveness of the marks," Malone wrote, "and the goodwill associated with the Coach trademarks is of incalculable and inestimable value to Coach."
The lawsuit puts the flea market in the same company as some of the most renowned places, where suspiciously low-priced merchandise can be found.
Vendors and landlords along Canal Street in New York City, famously known for its high volume of street vendors selling cheap products with brand name labels, are among those who have been targeted by Coach, Axilrod said.
The lawsuit against Gata Corp and Martin was filed the same week two Chinese nationals were found guilty in U.S. District Court on multiple counts of trafficking counterfeit handbags and accessories and selling them at the flea market. They will be sentenced in July. A third man was acquitted on similar charges.
The men were the targets of a two-year investigation by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement that concluded with the raid on June 6, 2009. All three men were born in China, but live in New York.
Also, last week, 11 people who were caught selling counterfeit goods at the flea market in December reached agreement with Derry police prosecutors and avoided jail time or fines.
Derry police Capt. Vern Thomas has previously acknowledged counterfeit sales at the flea market are widespread, and he has said local law enforcement will continue to monitor the flea market until knockoffs are not sold there anymore.
Taylor, the owner of the flea market, could not be reached for comment Friday.
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