Louis Vuitton sues two subsidiaries of Chinese shoe giant Belle International for copyright infringement
- The French luxury fashion retailer accuses Belle International (China) and Best Able Footwear of copying its LV Archlight trainers
French luxury fashion retailer Louis Vuitton (LV) is suing two subsidiaries of China’s shoe giant, Belle International, for copyright infringement over the design of a pair of HK$8,950 (US$1,140) trainers, a court filing revealed on Friday.
The High Court document said Louis Vuitton Malletier accused Belle International (China) and Best Able Footwear, both incorporated in Hong Kong, of selling since July 24 last year a product that copied a substantial part of its product from spring and summer 2018 – the LV Archlight trainers.
The fashion label asked the court to ban further infringements and for the products to be removed from shops and the companies’ platforms.
It also told the court to order the products to be handed over or destroyed. LV also asked for an unspecified sum of damages to be determined.
Formerly listed in Hong Kong, Belle International runs an array of retail chains across Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, including Staccato, Joy & Peace and Jipi Japa, mainly targeting the women’s market.
