UNITED Prestige Group has been ordered to pay damages and costs amounting to more than $1 million by the Federal Court, in a judgement following a ruling which found it had operated a "sophisticated counterfeiting operation" relating to Bio-Oil.
The case was brought by Geneva Laboratories and Union-Swiss, which has an exclusive distribution agreement with Aspen Pharmacare Pty Ltd for the distribution of Bio-Oil in Australia.
The ruling, issued last month, described United Prestige Group, Prestige Premium Deals, United Prestige Clearance and Andrew Christopher, as conducting a "serious, planned and protracted attack" on the intellectual property rights of Geneva and Union-Swiss.
Interestingly the companies also pursued cases against retail pharmacies who dealt with United Prestige, which resulted in recoveries of some $87,500.
The awarding of damages follows orders made in Sep last year pursuant to a judgement which found Andrew Christopher and Prestige Premium Deals had infringed Bio-Oil intellectual property by "importing and selling goods bearing trade marks as signs which were identical, substantially identical or deceptively similar to the Bio-Oil Marks".
Andrew Christopher was also found to have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.
The damages were calculated at $425,000 based on sales foregone and profitability impacted by the imported counterfeit product, plus a further $50,000 in "reputational damages".
There were also "additional and exemplary damages" of $212,500, with the Court finding the case involved flagrant and highly deceptive behaviour, taking place over a substantial period of time and with a "virtual certainty of the counterfeit Bio-Oil being taken to be genuine Bio-Oil by both consumers and retail pharmacists".
Interest was also levied on the damages, along with lump sum costs of $540,000 plus GST .
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