A Singapore e-trading website selling counterfeit goods from China was sued by fashion designer Calvin Klein when the latter purchased two sample Calvin Klein goods from it. The Singapore High Court has since ordered the website, SGbuy4u, to stop selling the counterfeit goods in a summary judgment. However there is no mention of compensation for the two companies – freight companies HS International and Global GSM – managing transactions of SGbuy4u.
The owner of HS International and Global GSM is a certain Jeffrey Tan, as his full name was withheld by the Singapore media. Two unnamed individuals were also sued by Calvin Klein. Defence lawyers claimed that they operated couriers similar that of DHL and FedEx, and hence blamed China sellers instead for delivering the counterfeits. SGbuy4u operates by earning the difference from purchases made in popular China trading site, Tao Bao. The company receive the goods in Guang Zhou China and then freight it over to Singapore.
Judge Chan Seng Onn ruled the case in Calvin Klein’s favour in a summary judgment without having to go through a full trial. The judge said he had no hesitation in holding Global PSM for trademark infringement.
China trading site Tao Bao is infamous for selling counterfeits due to the lax administration of intellectual property rights in China. The EBay spawn-off features all kinds of goods similar to AliBaba, and opens up access to the China market from the world.