The German shoe manufacturer Gabor Shoes AG has achieved initial success in the fight against a fake shop from Malaysia. The Asian company tried to deceive buyers under the web address gabor-ireland.com. Supported by the law firm Lorenz Seidler Gossel, Gabor initiated proceedings against the company and was right on all counts. The website has now been shut down and the address is to be transferred to Gabor Shoes AG in accordance with the decision of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In addition, Gabor is examining further claims for damages.
The WIPO also justified its decision with the fact that Gabor’s reputation in the shoe sector has been clearly proven and the use of the globally protected brand name “Gabor” in a third-party Internet address violates trademark law, even if “Gabor” is supplemented by other terms such as in this case “gabor-ireland”. Gabor points out that, in order to protect its customers, the unsolicited use of its trademarks in domain names is not tolerated and that legal action can be expected in the event of violations.
Fraud with fake shops is currently booming. The consumer centers in Germany alone received complaints about around 3,000 fake shops last year, three times more than in the previous year. Fake shops not only affect fashion retailers, but range from medicines to firewood.