Consignment of fake Timberland shoes to be destroyed

A court has decreed that a consignment of fake Timberland shoes seized by local Freeport authorities is to be destroyed at the expense of a company based in Algeria.

Timberland Licensing LLC of New Hampshire, USA filed court proceedings against Eurl Iskalia IMP/EXP, claiming that its intellectual property rights had been breached by the defendant.

The First Hall of the Civil Court, presided by judge Mark Chetcuti, heard Timberland's lawyer Peter Fenech, explain that an inspection by the Comptroller of Customs at the Malta Freeport in September 2016 had yielded hundreds of boxes containing 1,755 pairs of counterfeit shoes bearing the Timberland trademark.

The fake shoes, due to be delivered to the defendant company, had arrived at the Freeport on board the CMA CGM Vela and were seized following an inspection by the local customs authorities.

The court was told that samples taken from a suspect container confirmed that the shoes had been manufactured and exported without the authority of the trademark owner.

The court pointed out that the production of counterfeit products was in breach of both local and EU trademark legislation, as well as the intellectual property rights of the plaintiff.

Judge Chetcuti upheld the plaintiff's request, ordering the Comptroller of Customs to destroy the counterfeit shoes within 90 days, also decreeing that all expenses were to be borne by the defendant.