During a walk through my home town I passed by this store showcasting various Birkin and Kelly look-a-like bags in several colors and sizes.

Pics of the store I passed by showcasting the look-a-like bags.

Hermès bags, and especially the Birkin and Kelly have been extremely popular for years and years. Unfortunately, only the rich and famous are able to purchase one. The price of a basic Birkin nowadays is about 6K euro.

Since most bags are normally only protected by copyright, the designer can only act against an identical copy of the design. However, Hermès is one of the few fashion houses that apparantly finds IP-protection very important. They have managed to register a Community Trademark (3D) Registration for the Birkin!


Community Trademark Registration (3D) ofthe Hermès Birkin

This means that anyone copying the design of the Birkin bag is not only in violation of copyright but also trademark infringement!

With a trademark registration it is possible to act against any use and/or registration of a sign that is (phonetically, visually or conceptually) similar or identical to the registered mark. This will result in a much broader protection than copyright only!

Taking this into consideration, do you believe these bags are infringing Hèrmes' rights?

The World Cup fever has just kicked in and Holland is turning orange everywhere! Normally not really my favorite color. But if it comes to soccer or "Hermès Orange" I simply luv it! Apart from the hefty price tag I have to say boohoo to the extremely long waiting lists at Hermès. Thanks to Designer-Vintage I have the feeling that my Hermès dream bag could be within my reach. Uh, well perhaps in my wildest dreams that is... Check out these gorgeous pre-loved Birkins just up for the grabs on Designer-Vintage. Simply transfer the amount of 5,500 Euros or 25,000 Euros to the seller's bank account and this gorgeous epsom or croc Birkin can be all yours!

A bit too expensive? Check out some of the other Orange goodies currently for sale, such as a Hermès cuff or a Paul & Joe tunic dress. And the good thing is that everything for sale on Designer-Vintage is authentic! Therefore: shop with confidence for the color of the World Cup 2010 champion! ;)

P.s. I am writing this while watching the match between Brazil and North-Korea. 'What's up with this story about these fake North-Koreans from China? It shouldn't get any crazier than that don't you agree?

Who doesn't know My Brand's t-shirts, incorporating famous brands in the prints of their t-shirts? Brands such as Chanel, Hermes, YSL and Marc Jacobs.  Their clothing have been worn by many Dutch celebs and are currently flying off the shelves.

Although I would not have expected anything less than these t-shirts being extremely popular among fashionistas in The Netherlands aka "counterfeit-heaven", it is also no surprise to me that Chanel has ordered My Brand to stop selling the "Chanel inspired" t-shirts (because Chanel considers them to be fakes!).

My Brand t-shirts are often called designer inspired, however I prefer to call it infringement!

Something may be called infringement if the sign used by the infringer is identical or similar to a registered trademark (including association with a registered trademark). In case there is a likelihood of confusion (which in my view clearly is the case here), a trademark owner can object against the use of the infringing sign.

And honestly speaking, I'm not sure why people would like to wear something which is obviously fake and not very creatively designed. Why not save up a little bit more and buy something from the designer self instead of a knock-off? I would suggest to steer away from wearing something that makes you look like a wannabe. In my opinion, a real fan of these much coveted authentic brands would stay true to the designer and not buy a cheap fake!

Two questions that need to be answered in this respect:

1. would these t-shirts be equally popular if these brands were not incorporated in the prints?
2. do you think it's fair that My Brand makes a profit using other designer's brands and fame?

Well, you be the judge and decide whether the My Brand t-shirts are designer inspired or simply infringement:



My Brand "Chanel" t-shirt vs. Chanel's interlocking CC logo



My Brand "YSL" t-shirt vs. YSL logo



My Brand "Hermes" dress vs. Hermès logo (they even copied the figurative element)

eBay recently sent out a petition to everyone who ever bought or sold something on their online marketplace within the European Union. The petition is called: “Demand an end to unfair trade practices”.

In this petition eBay is asking people to sign the petition in order to have the EU competition law amended to stop these so-called “unfair trade practices” so that brands will no longer be able to block the sales of their products at online marketplaces and other websites regardless whether these products are new, second-hand, authentic or fake.

However, eBay did not mention that these brands had decided to take these drastic measures after unfruitful requests to eBay asking them to take appropriate measures against the sale of counterfeit products.

Also, did you know that eBay has been involved in numerous law suits in the past couple of years?

In France, eBay lost a counterfeit lawsuit filed by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), which is the owner of  Louis Vuitton , amongst others. According to LVMH, eBay did not take appropriate action against fake Louis Vuitton bags, accessories and fake perfumes being offered on the eBay website. In this case the judge decided that eBay had to pay a fine of 40 million Euros for the sale of counterfeit products of LVMH to LVMH.

Hermès also successfully sued eBay for the sale of two fake Hermès handbags. Both eBay and the seller were sentenced to pay 20,000 Euros to Hermès.

Brand owners Tiffany and L’Oréal were also involved in lawsuits against eBay for the alleged sale of fake products in the past.

And finally, last week, footwear and accessories designer Steve Madden sued eBay for fake watches being sold on their online marketplace. According to Steve Madden eBay has not only failed to remove all watches with the Steve Madden trademark from their website," the Long Island City-based company said. eBay also "has failed to take any steps to police the eBay auction site."

Would you as a buyer not want to have the security of buying an authentic product instead of having the risk of buying a fake? Would it not be much better to know that you can trust online marketplaces for taking all the necessary measures to prevent the sale of counterfeits on their site, giving consumers the confidence that they can safely purchase products on their website?

Before you decide to sign this petition, please think clearly about the consequences of doing so! It looks like brand owners are trying to make it as difficult as possible for us consumers to simply buy and sell stuff online. However, this is not the case. After trying to find a solid partner in online marketplaces to prevent the sales of counterfeit goods with no success, the brand owners find themselves in a position where they apparently have no other options left than to take much more drastic measures.

Therefore buyer beware! If you sign this petition, you might just increase the risk of buying a fake online!

Always wanted to own your very own Hermès? As you may know, it is practically impossible to easily get your hands on a Hermès Birkin. There are massive waiting lists for the most coveted handbag. Luckily for us fashionata's there is such a thing as designer-vintage.com.

This week designer-vintage.com is putting Hermès handbags in the spotlight! Check it out here and make your dream come true!

Michael Tonello is mijn held! Eerder schreef ik dat er een wachtlijst van ca. één jaar is voor de Hermès Birkin. Tonello bewijst dat die wachtlijst onzin is. Hij heeft aangetoond dat Hermès de exclusiviteit van de Birkin kunstmatig hoog houdt door het hanteren van een wachtlijst. Zwem je echter in het geld, dan kun je met gemak direct een Birkin meekrijgen. Dat is als je weet wat de juiste formule is.

Tonello is achter dè formule gekomen en met die formule heeft hij het voor elkaar gekregen binnen no time weer met een Birkin buiten te staan.

Op die wijze heeft hij met gemak in één jaar voor een bedrag van ca. $ 1,6 miljoen aan Hermèsproducten uit gegeven. In totaal heeft hij voor miljoenen aan Birkins weten te bemachtigen.

Zijn avonturen heeft hij nu vastgelegd in zijn uiterst vermakelijke en spannende boek "Bringing home the Birkin". Een aanrader (ik heb het boek echt verslonden)!  Ook weten wat dè formule is? Lees het boek snel!

Het zijn echte klassiekers de tassen van Hermès. De twee meest bekende tassen zijn de Kelly en de Birkin bag, vernoemd naar Grace Kelly en Jane Birkin. Zo werd Grace Kelly gespot met een Hermès tas waarna dat model vernoemd werd naar Grace Kelly.



De Birkin tas werd speciaal voor Jane Birkin ontworpen, nadat ze in het vliegtuig zat te klagen over haar toenmalige tas waar niet al haar spullen in pasten. Toevallig zat ze naar de directeur van Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas die vervolgens speciaal voor haar de Birkin tas heeft ontworpen. Het gerucht gaat trouwens dat ze wel gewoon heeft moeten betalen voor de tas.



Het zijn beide zeer klassieke modellen die nooit out of fashion zullen zijn, omdat ze ‘groter’ zijn dan de jaarlijkse IT-bags. Victoria Beckham is een groot fan van de Birkin tas en heeft naar het schijnt een collectie aan Hermès tassen goed voor een bedrag van over ruim € 1.000.000,--. Ze heeft ze in alle kleuren, formaten en materialen.



De tassen zijn zeer gewild, want zeer duur en exclusief. Gemiddeld is er een wachtlijst van één jaar mocht je een tas willen aanschaffen en prijzen zijn vanaf ca. € 5.000,--, maar kunnen oplopen tot ruim over € 100.000,-- afhankelijk van de exclusiviteit van het materiaal van de tas. In één van de afleveringen van Sex and the City speelt de Birkin zelfs een hoofdrol. Samantha gebruikt, als personal assistant van Lucy Liu, de naam van haar werkgeefster om sneller bovenaan de wachtlijst te komen voor een Birkin.



Gelukkig is Hermès de beroerdste niet en bieden ze nu een mooi alternatief voor iedereen die alleen maar kan dromen van de Kelly of de Birkin en er toch één wil bezitten. Op de website van Hermès kun je nu zelf je eigen papieren versie van de Kelly downloaden en knutselen.



Mocht je wel zwemmen in het geld en niet het geduld hebben om op een wachtlijst te staan voor je eigen Birkin of Kelly, kun je ook bij Createurs de Luxe terecht. Op deze site kun je direct aan je eigen Hermès komen, als je maar bereid bent om direct 10K neer te tellen. Voor een iets betaalbaar alternatief kun je ook designer-vintage.com in de gaten houden. Hier worden zo nu en dan tweedehands tassen aangeboden, al ben je dan nog steeds duizenden euro’s kwijt.

Ik droom nog even verder en klus mijn eigen papieren Hermès.