Burberry has filed a trademark lawsuit against The TJX Cos. Inc. that accuses the off-price giant of selling large quantities of counterfeits and other infringing products across its several nameplates.
The luxury firm cited eight instances in the last four years in which its representatives found counterfeit or infringing Burberry items on TJX shelves, according to the suit, which was filed March 3 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Burberry first contacted TJX about picture frames bearing infringing marks at its Marshalls stores in 2006, the lawsuit said. The off-pricer promised to remove the frames. Two years later, Burberry alleged it found counterfeit polo shirts with “Burberry” hangtags at Marshalls, which TJX again promised to remove. Despite those two incidents, Burberry charged that TJX continued to sell infringing items, including luggage, scarves and jackets at its Marshalls, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods stores.
“TJX has continued to import, distribute, supply, promote and/or sell large quantities of counterfeit goods bearing one or more of the Burberry marks in conscious disregard of Burberry’s intellectual property rights and the counterfeit nature of the products in an effort to target their customer base and profit at Burberry’s expense,” according to the lawsuit.
The Framingham, Mass.-based retailer takes the matter “very seriously,” said Sherry Lang, senior vice president of investor and public relations.
“At TJX, integrity lies at the root of how we conduct our business and we are proud of our excellent vendor relationships,” Lang said. The company does not comment on pending litigation.
Burberry is seeking an injunction, the destruction of any unauthorized goods, a court order forcing TJX to run corrective advertisements, legal fees and unspecified damages.