Hong Kong shoemaker sued by fashion brands Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga for copyright infringement
Two fashion houses claim unspecified damages from Gi Gi Shoes & Handbags
A famous Hong Kong shoemaker was on Wednesday sued by international fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga over an alleged copyright infringement.
The two brands demanded an unspecified sum of damages as well as court injunctions to restrain Ng Chung-fu of Gi Gi Shoes & Handbags from infringing their original artistic works, and sought court orders for the delivery or destruction of all infringing products.
But Ng’s son, Desmond, told the Post that he felt “helpless” because they had already removed the relevant products from shelves upon receiving complaints of infringement, which he said they had been unaware of in the first place.
“We are not the maker [of those products],” the younger Ng said. “We had no intention to manufacture products to infringe others’ trademarks.”
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His father, who founded the company 43 years ago, was unavailable for comment due to poor health.