Gucci, Facebook sue Instagram and FB user for selling counterfeit goods

Gucci and Facebook have sued an individual who uses social media platforms to sell fake items. In the joint lawsuit that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, it was alleged that the respondent in the case used Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking site to market counterfeit Gucci products.

First joint suit of its kind

Gucci and Facebook’s move to join forces and go after the offender was revealed on Tuesday, April 27. As per Reuters, this is the first time that two major companies - a luxury brand and a social media giant, have teamed up to fight against the surge of fake goods that are being peddled on social media sites.

The companies said in a statement that the offender has many Instagram and Facebook accounts, and these were used as channels to promote and sell her merchandise. The accused was not named in the reports, but it was hinted that the plaintiffs are fighting against a woman who operates a business that sells counterfeit items in the international market.

The luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy, is also taking this step of bringing a counterfeiter to court in its effort to help curb the fraudulent modus that is greatly affecting the business of the original manufacturers and sellers.

The charge against the unnamed individual

Bloomberg reported that Facebook and Gucci indicated breach-of-contract in their court filing. They claimed that the woman violated several FB users’ terms and infringed Gucci’s intellectual property rights.

It was disclosed that the woman created several accounts on IG and FB to avoid being detected and steer clear of being flagged by the platforms. In that way, she can continue to sell her wares that are, unfortunately, imitations of Gucci products, including bags, clothing, shoes, and accessories.

"More than one million pieces of content were removed from Facebook and Instagram in the first half of 2020, based on thousands of reports of counterfeit content from brand owners, including Gucci," the plaintiffs stated in their lawsuit documents. “Customers deserve to be able to shop for authentic Gucci products without fear of being deceived.”