Tory Burch counterfeiters ordered to pay $41m

Tory Burch has been awarded a hefty $41m in damages against a company accused of copying the firm's distinctive double-T logo on its jewelry.

The trademark dispute between Tory Burch and Lin & J International - a company run by Youngran Kim - has been running through the courts for two years - with the two companies locked in suit and countersuit over the designs of their respective jewelry lines.

Last Friday, US District Judge Denise Cote ordered Lin & J the company to pay $38.9m in damages in addition to attorneys' fees of $2.3m, marking the culmination of a drawn out and increasingly acrimonious dispute - often played out in the media - in which Tory Burch was accused of bullying small businesses.

Tory Burch initially filed a complaint against Lin & J in 2013, claiming that rings, necklaces and earrings sold by the company under the Isis brand were copies of its own designs and infringed trademarks.

In response, Lin & J's contended its products were original designs inspired the Coptic cross, an early Christian symbol, and alleged unfair trade practices, tortious interference with its business relationships and defamation, as well as trademark infringement.

Last November, the judge in a New York federal court ruled that Lin & J had fabricated and destroyed evidence, and continued to rely on the offending material despite being ordered to desist.

The evidence related to specimens submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as well as backdated receipts and catalogues in which the term 'Tory Burch' had been removed.