Anyone who keeps up with the latest trends will surely have heard of ‘dupes.’ These are products marketed as (often much cheaper) alternatives to expensive branded products. Understandably, these products are not welcomed with open arms by the established brands. Coty, the brand owner of many well-known perfumes such as Burberry, Gucci and Hugo Boss, consequently found itself in a dispute with a supplier of dupes, Petite Mort.

Petite Mort is an online shop that sells perfumes as cheaper alternatives to (among others) Coty’s perfumes. For example, the Petite Mort Sensual Rose perfume was described as being “inspired by Chloe EDP”. In addition, various comparisons were made with Coty’s brands which proved to be incorrect. For instance, Petite Mort claimed that Coty’s products were not “cruelty-free”.

The District Court of The Hague ruled that Petite Mort’s use of Coty’s trademarks in connection with its own perfumes constitutes trademark infringement. Petite Mort’s defence that it had to use those trademarks to describe the scent does not hold water. There are other ways to describe the scent of the dupes without infringing Coty’s trademarks (for example, by using terms such as “floral” and “fresh”). Furthermore, the comparisons made by Petite Mort have been found to be inaccurate or unsubstantiated, meaning that they constitute misleading comparative advertising.

This is a significant victory for brands that are affected by parties capitalising on their quality and status. Even if the dupe has a different appearance and name, there are ways to take action against it. Are you experiencing issues with dupes as well? We’d be happy to help you protect your product and reputation!