Chanel Seeks Injunction Against What Goes Around Comes Around
On the heels of its legal victory against the web-based resale sit last month, Chanel has asked a New York federal court to block What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA) from using the label’s trademarks and offering unauthorized or materially altered goods for sale.
Chanel initially filed suit against WGACA in 2018, accusing the reseller of selling counterfeit bags and display-only items that were not meant for sale. The luxury brand also said WGACA implied affiliation with Chanel through marketing efforts, such as coupon codes and social media posts, when no such relationship existed.
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A multi-week jury trial culminated with a Feb. 6 verdict wherein jurors unanimously agreed that WGACA was guilty of trademark infringement, false association and unfair competition. The jurors pointed to evidence such as handbags with voided stolen Chanel serial numbers, point-of-sale items and altered or repaired Chanel products as some of the evidence of WGACA’s wrongdoing. The jury awarded Chanel $4 million in statutory damages for its trademark infringement claims.
Now, to supplement those damages, Chanel is asking the court to enter a permanent injunction against WGACA that would prohibit it from partaking in actions that may confuse consumers. Advertising or selling any unauthorized Chanel-branded items, as well as using Chanel logos or other marks for anything other than identifying items for sale, should be prohibited, it argued.
Chanel also asked the court to order WGACA to recall any infringing items sold to consumers or wholesalers since March 2018, and requested that the retailer be ordered to post a disclaimer of authorization on its website, as well as prominently post photographic evidence of Chanel serial numbers of items it sells.
WGACA currently names Chanel first in its list of luxury brands on the “Who We Are” page of its website and has dozens of bags from the fashion house for sale.
“WGACA has always had a rigorous authentication process and has never in the history of the company sold a non-genuine or counterfeit product,” WGACA told Vogue Business following the verdict. “Today’s verdict was not about not selling a counterfeit, it was about WGACA selling items which were voided in Chanel’s database. Without any access to this database the resale industry would not know the status of these serial numbers. We continue to stand by our 100 percent authenticity guarantee,” it added.
This isn’t the first time Chanel has tangled with a reseller over claims of inauthentic products. Just months after filing its initial suit in 2018 against WGACA, Chanel also lodged a complaint against luxury consignment site The RealReal for selling counterfeit bags and presenting them as real.
Luxury consignment sites such as WGACA and The RealReal employ brand authenticators to verify the items they sell. But even with those safeguards in place, many luxury resale sites have come under scrutiny for product authenticity. The RealReal, for instance, has been accused multiple times of selling counterfeits. The marketplace
was also called out by TikTok user Amy Tripp for selling her a pair of Chanel earrings in 2022 for $845, only to deem them “inauthentic” when Tripp tried to re-consign them on the site.
The outcome of this case could have lasting implications for luxury resale players, setting a precedent for authentication that limits products for sale to those bearing brand-issued verification documents.
