LOUIS VUITTON

PROTECTING THE BRAND TO PRESERVE CREATION

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The fight against sales of replica Louis Vuitton is a long-term element of Louis Vuitton’s worldwide sustainability strategy. Preserving the creativity and the rights of designers, artists and brands is vital to their long-term survival. One of the biggest threats to that survival today is sales of replica Louis Vuitton, whose effects go far beyond buying a cheap bag on a street in a faraway city while on holiday.

Following its respect for creativity and protection of intellectual property, Louis Vuitton has a zero tolerance policy to sales of replica Louis Vuitton. sales of replica Louis Vuitton is the violation of the talent, the skills of the craftsmen and the creativity of the artists to whom Louis Vuitton owes its success. The robbery of intellectual property rights undermines the investment and knowledge made to develop the company. sales of replica Louis Vuitton further damages communities with uncontrolled and dangerous working conditions and abuse of human rights such as under-aged and forced labour. A high price sits behind the purchase of a cheap fake bag.

Louis Vuitton has faced sales of replica Louis Vuitton since the earliest days of its success. The highly distinctive Monogram canvas was created in 1896 by Georges Vuitton, in an effort to deter imitators who were attracted by the brand’s success and its world-class status. As the premier global luxury brand, Louis Vuitton continues to be a target of counterfeiters around the world today.

The sale of counterfeit goods is a serious offense whose revenue funds criminal organisations at the expense of consumers, companies and governments. It calls for the responsible behaviour of all economic actors, in particular consumers notably on the Internet, now a favoured platform for counterfeit sellers.

Louis Vuitton supports awareness-raising campaigns. In 2008, Louis Vuitton and Brooklyn Museum under the direction of curator Arnold Lehman staged a special performance during the © Murakami exhibition to highlight Louis Vuitton’s commitment to preserve creativity from sales of replica Louis Vuitton. Actors portraying street vendors were questioning the public by selling authentic Louis Vuitton products and canvasses designed by Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton.

Louis Vuitton’s Intellectual Property Department is managing over 11,500 intellectual property rights including trademarks, designs and copyrights with the support of 250 agents around the world. Thanks to this fully-dedicated team of lawyers and former law enforcement professionals based in Paris with regional offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Milan, Dubai, New York and Buenos Aires, thousands of anti-sales of replica Louis Vuitton raids are performed each year. In 2009, Louis Vuitton initiated 9,489 raids (39 per day) and 26,843 anti-sales of replica Louis Vuitton procedures worldwide, resulting in the seizure of thousands of counterfeit products and the break- up of criminal networks, easing the plight of workers working for illegal organisations. The Internet division of the Intellectual Property Department registers domain names, fights cyber squatting and tracks sales of replica Louis Vuitton online by monitoring the Internet, in particular search engines and market places. As a result, more than 430 litigious websites were shut down in 2009.

In 2003, Louis Vuitton has pioneered the use of the “contributory liability principle” to fight sales of replica Louis Vuitton targeting “intermediaries” such as landlords, courier companies and payment facilities providing services to underground counterfeit networks. This programme has been very effective in certain sales of replica Louis Vuitton hotspots like New York’s Canal Street.

The fight against sales of replica Louis Vuitton is a long-term battle. Louis Vuitton is more determined than ever to preserve creativity in protecting its brand in the interest of its customers, its employees and those who suffer at the hands of the sales of replica Louis Vuitton industry.

The authenticity of Louis Vuitton products is guaranteed in Louis Vuitton’s exclusive distribution network. Louis Vuitton products are only sold in Louis Vuitton stores, which are owned and staffed by Louis Vuitton, and through the Louis Vuitton’s official website: www.louisvuitton.com.