Online counterfeit sales worry luxury brands

While surfing a popular Korean news website, Anna Lee, a 36-year-old office worker, noticed a small ad with flashing images of luxury handbags. One click later, and she was looking at a website filled with authentic-looking designer bags being sold for a fraction of the original price. ``The bags looked new and real. I saw a Chanel bag for only 280,000 won, but after looking at the price, I guessed it was a fake. A real bag wouldn’t be that cheap,’’ she said, noting that the Chanel purse would normally cost more than 3 million won. Lee is still thinking about whether to order the ``real-looking’’ Chanel purse from the website, noting that online shopping offers convenience and privacy. ``No one will know if I bought the bag online,’’ she laughed. It used to be that one had to go to Itaewon to purchase those infamous Louis Vuitton or Chanel ``super-fake’’ handbags. These days, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of websites selling counterfeit luxury branded bags, shoes, accessories and clothes. Visit any Korean search engine, type in the words Louis Vuitton and it will come back with results not just for the official website, but with sponsored links to dubious-looking sites selling the latest ``it’’ handbags. These sponsored links and websites represent a new headache for luxury brand companies and Korean authorities, who already have to contend with the steady stream of counterfeit bags for sale on the streets of Seoul. ``You have these advertising links flashing up on legitimate websites, and it will take you to other websites, whose servers are often based outside of Korea. That causes problems for taking enforcement action against them. It’s difficult to close a website, but when it’s outside Korea, it’s an even bigger challenge for brand owners and Korean authorities,’’ Tom Duke, director of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK) IP Centre, told The Korea Times, Wednesday. The IP Centre works with EUCCK member companies, especially on trademark and design protection. The websites are usually in Korean, obviously targeting Korean consumers, but the servers are based in Hong Kong and China, making it hard for authorities to track them down and force their closure. A few years ago, fake designer goods were popping up in legitimate online marketplaces like Gmarket, Auction and 11st Street. The websites have been working with luxury brands on a system where they can report suspected sellers of fake luxury items. After an investigation, the sellers’ accounts can be deleted from the website. It has worked well, but counterfeiters have found ways to circumvent the system by posting links to off-shore websites. ``A lot of these activities are being driven off the main sites. But the problem is you have the hard core on the sites, the people who can keep coming back and re-registering on the same site with different IDs, which technically should not happen, but it does,’’ Duke said. The Korea Times still found a few sellers offering suspicious-looking Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags on Gmarket, with links to external websites.