LONDON, July 29 (UPI) -- Several luxury designer brands are fighting back against the growth of the fashion knockoff industry in Britain, The Independent reported Sunday.
The high-end shoemaker Jimmy Choo found that the chains Oasis and Jane Shilton had been selling copycats of two of the company's summer shoes. The company instructed lawyers to fight what it called design plagiarism.
The shoes were withdrawn and Jimmy Choo was paid thousands of pounds in damages, The Independent reported.
"We've taken an aggressive approach because unless you hit their pockets they won't take a blind bit of notice," said Hannah Merritt, the shoemaker's head of legal affairs.
Large companies are said to prowl London looking for designs of shoes, handbags and apparel that they can quickly reproduce and sell at a fraction of the brand-name price.
