Salvatore Ferragamo awarded over $4 million in counterfeiting case Luxury Italian brand Salvatore Ferragamo has been awarded $4.3m damages in a counterfeiting case over infringements to its trademark A Manhattan court has just awarded Salvatore Ferragamo $4.3m (around £2.5 million) in a landmark counterfeiting case over infringements to its trademark. The suit filed at the start of this year was against a 15 defendants who were holding 95 domain names between them that were found to infringe upon the trademark of the Italian luxury brand. As WWD reports, defendants included websites such as FerragamoBagSale.com, FerragamoSingapore2012.com and FerragamoOnlineStore.com with charges in question including trademark infringement, dilution and cybersquatting with affected products being handbags, wallets, belts, shoes, eyeglasses, sunglasses, shoes, scarves, watches and ready-to-wear clothing as well. M.I.A. inspired by counterfeit Versace items for collaboration Ferragamo Group chairman Ferruccio Ferragamo, commented: "Our company is committed to protecting our brand and contributing to the fight against counterfeiting, which for many years has beleaguered the world's most prestigious fashion and luxury brands." READ: Study reveals London as world's leader in counterfeits goods He continued: "The Internet has now become a leading channel for traffickers of counterfeit goods, and is now the central focus of the recent lawsuits filed by our group, historically one of the most affected by this crime." Thus far this year a staggering $158.7 million (close to £100 million) has been awarded to brand owners, including this latest win by Ferragamo - with $144.2 million (£88 million) of that being awarded to Gucci America Inc. READ: Ferragamo through the ages However, as WWD correctly points out, fines of such inflated amounts are more of a paper tiger (as opposed to a ripped off Kenzo one) as defendants sometimes don't appear in court and often change their names and disappear altogether.