VERSACE has won a landmark court case against the selling of counterfeit products on eBay. The Italian brand first started legal proceedings in California over four years ago against the Griffith Suisse Luxury Group - a company that had been selling fake Versace Goods via the online shopping platform. As a result of yesterday's ruling, the group has been banned from eBay indefinitely and is no longer able to use Versace's trademarks in its designs.

"Counterfeit goods not only bring to a dilution of the brand, but are connected to organised crime, child labour and harmful working conditions," Versace CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris told WWD. "We are very pleased with the ruling. Versace is a brand that is well known around the world, and the violation of its intellectual property rights is a problem that the company has always been actively fighting. One cannot take pride in being counterfeited."

Authentic Versace products carry a Certilogo code - a unique traceable serial number that enables a product to be verified. Customers are able to check online purchases by using the code, and send it back if found to be counterfeit.

"It's a clear system and very transparent, We want to protect consumers and all those affected by the manufacture and trade in fake goods," said Ferraris. "I want to take this opportunity and thank our legal team, both in-house and at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hamptom LLP, for conceiving a strategy that gave Griffith no alternative but accept our requests."