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Chanel Continues Its Lawsuit Against RealReal Over Counterfeit Products

Chanel Continues Its Lawsuit Against RealReal Over Counterfeit Products

The quote “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” may not go down well with a lot of creatives seeing as a lot of thought has been put into their work. This is the case with the French luxury fashion house Chanel and The RealReal.

According to Fashion network, “On November 15, 2018, The Fashion Law reported that Chanel has filed a lawsuit against luxury reseller The RealReal for allegedly selling at least seven of its counterfeit handbags.

chanel realreal

The initial November filing (Chanel, Inc., v. The RealReal, Inc., 1:18-cv-10626-VSB (SDNY)) states that The RealReal, “through its business advertising and marketing practices, has attempted to deceive consumers into falsely believing that The RealReal has some kind of approval from or an association or affiliation with Chanel or that all Chanel-branded goods sold by The RealReal are authentic,” but that “there is no nor has there ever been any approval by or association or affiliation between Chanel and The RealReal.”


In March 2019, The RealReal rejected the claims and requested that the case is dismissed but Chanel is having none of it. The court documents presented by Chanel’s legal team argue that the RealReal “cannot hold itself out as an expert authenticator and seller of ‘100-per cent real’ Chanel-branded products and then, after advertising and selling counterfeit Chanel-branded goods, claim that its advertising claims are merely ‘general expression[s] of opinion’ that are ‘immune from challenge.'” {WWD}

The RealReal believes its resale model supports the primary luxury market where the vast majority of their customers also purchase luxury.

Some onlookers have speculated that Chanel is battling the RealReal simply because the brand doesn’t want anyone selling its products at discounted rates – used or not.

This is one interesting case we’re watching out for as it may significantly alter how other resellers of luxury goods do business going forward.

Photo credit: Chanel.com


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