Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) / Getty Images
The great food chain Costco Wholesale and the great jewelry Tiffany & Co finally reached an amicable agreement, after they had a legal dispute over for 8 years counterfeiting by the food distributor of engagement rings from the prestigious Tiffany collection.
The case was heard by a US district court in Manhattan and this week received a motion to dismiss the case, said Costco attorney David Bernstein.
The case began to be fought in court in the year 2013. The plaintiffs were seeking $ 2 million in damages, in addition to Costco returning the proceeds from the sales of the rings in question. Tiffany alleges that Costco customers probably still think those rings are authentic.
“This is not the type of behavior that people expect from a company. like Costco, and this case will shed much-needed light on this outrageous behavior, “said Tiffany’s legal representative, at the time.
For the prestigious jewelery it was not only a fake, but also a “scandalous behavior” by Costco where the intellectual property of its brand was infringed .
In principle, federal court found Costco responsible for the sale of the rings disputed, although Costco argued that Tiffany had become “generic” in describing the setting of the rings.
It was until 2017, Costco had a first statement for $ 80 million dollars to be paid to luxury goods company Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH SE) that Tiffany had just acquired.
After this sentence an appeals court said Costco had acted in good faith and that Costco customers were nimble enough to know they were buying a knockoff piece. , because it was obvious that the prestigious jewelry brand would not endorse the sale of its pieces in a wholesale food sale.
It is estimated, according to court documents, that Costco stores sold in the United States almost 3, 500 engagement rings. It all started when a Tiffany customer complained to the jewelry store thinking that they were selling off the brand’s diamond rings, seeing them cheaply at a California Costco.
The case came to an end after the famous jewelry store changed owners and therefore lawyers. Apparently they decided not to give more publicity to the case.
You too You may be interested in:
Post-pandemic effect: sales of engagement rings increase in the United States