italian/Swiss watchmaker Panerai recently announced it had earned a “favorable decision” in a major intellectual property case against Chinese manufacturer Awsky regarding the sale of counterfeit Panerai timepieces. The court decision, handed down by Guangdong Shenzhen Luohu District People’s Court in China on October 12, 2019, and finalized April 13, 2020, has demanded an immediate halt to all sales of infringing timepieces along with a sizeable financial compensation to Panerai. Awsky has been one of the most flagrant offenders in the Panerai counterfeit space, producing 48 separate models infringing on Panerai’s marks and distributing them through at least 16 different online sales platforms. Information exists to suggest that this is not the first time the defendant has engaged in anti-competitive behavior with replica panerai uk prior to the facts of the current suit. This is seen as a big win for watch brands who rarely have many resources in stopping copycats and counterfeiters in China, where many of the watches are produced. The case outcome is likely rather narrow, not setting a great precedent that would materially help other brands from saving time and court effort in stopping future offenders. It does, however, show that the courts in China are by no means deaf to the commercial problems caused by unfair businesses practices all the way to flat-out intellectual property theft.
Counterfeit luxury watches are not a new phenomenon, and this legal decision in replica panerai watches favor is the latest in a line of copyright cases by Swiss brands stretching back for many years. The latest decision against Awsky, however, stands out for several reasons. First, there is the origin of the court’s ruling to consider. China is a nation with notoriously lax standards when it comes to international copyright laws, so much so that entire industries in China have been built up around the production of not just imitations of luxury watches, but high fashion, toys, appliances, and even entire cars. The fact that a Chinese court has ruled against a manufacturer in China so harshly, even after multiple offenses, could potentially be the sign of a sea change in the way international copyright law is enforced in China. More so, this is not a case where all the infringing behavior involves mere trademark infringement, i.e., copying the logo. In this instance, the entire watch and theme of the brand are, in some senses, protected.