China market sued over fake goods

Shoppers flock to Silk Street to pick up cheap designer goods

Five world-famous luxury brands are suing a popular Beijing shopping market - accusing it of selling fake goods.

Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Prada have begun a joint action against the operator of Beijing's Silk Street market, industry sources say.

Five stallholders at the market, a popular tourist destination, are also being sued in the case.

The five companies are said to be seeking a 2.5m yuan ($310,000, £174,583) compensation payout.

Cheap copies

In a suit filed at Beijing's Number Two Intermediate People's Court the five companies argued that the market operator had the power to prevent the sale of counterfeit products.

They also argued that despite promises to "weed out" the sale of pirated goods the market's management were facilitating such sales by failing to take action against them.

Lawyers for the companies brought six boxes filled with pirated goods that they claimed were purchased at Silk Street.

However, the market's management denied the claims, saying it had done its best to ban sales of fake goods, adding that it had revoked the licences of the five stalls involved in the case.

The market is one of the capital's top tourist destinations, with visitors flocking there to pick up low price copies of designer goods.