Coach Wins $257 Million Court Ruling Against Counterfeiters

Coach Inc. (COH), the largest U.S. luxury handbag maker, said it won a $257 million default judgment in a lawsuit filed against businesses that operate websites selling counterfeit merchandise.

The judgment also awards Coach ownership of 573 Internet domain names, the company said today in a statement. The docket in the case, filed in federal court in Chicago, shows that the decision was rendered Oct. 15.

“This judgment should serve as a warning to everyone involved in any aspect of trafficking in counterfeit goods that Coach will find you and will seek to impose the harshest penalties available against you,” Coach’s general counsel, Todd Kahn, said in the statement.

The judgment is the latest victory in Coach’s anti- counterfeiting campaign known as “Operation Turnlock,” the company said. Since the program’s inception in 2009, Coach has obtained monetary awards against manufacturers, wholesalers, flea market operators and other links in the counterfeit distribution chain, the New York-based company said.

The case is Coach Inc. v. Does 1-573, 12-cv-01514, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).

To contact the reporter on this story: Sophia Pearson in Philadelphia at spearson3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net