On April 21, 2020, the Supreme People’s Court of China released the Top 10 IPR cases and 50 Exemplary IPR cases in 2019. The criminal proceeding eradicating counterfeit “Kiehl’s” network is selected as one of the 50 exemplary IPR cases. Wanhuida Law Firm represents the brand owner L’Oreal in this case.

The operation and the ensuing criminal proceeding took down the whole counterfeiting network including the formula developer, upstream suppliers of raw material, labels and packaging, the manufacturer and downstream distributors. A total of 10 suspects were prosecuted and convicted for counterfeiting goods worth RMB 4.6 million, sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 16 months up to 4 years and imposed fines over RMB 5 million in total.

The case may serve as a point of reference in the determination of the crimes, the assessment of the values associated with the criminal act of each defendant, the distinction between the prime culprits and accessories, and the strict application of pecuniary penalties for similar cases in the future.

Contributed by: Wei He