Fake speaker sales lead to $5m court judgment

French audio equipment manufacturer L-Acoustics has won another legal fight against groups accused of counterfeiting its loudspeaker products.

The latest victory came in a lawsuit filed against Florida-based rental company Se7en Sounds Music, with L-Acoustics awarded $5m in damages in a case alleging trademark infringement, counterfeiting and unfair competition.

It accuses the company and its owners of being “engaged in the manufacturing, distributing, promotion, offering to sell or rent, and sale or rental of goods in interstate commerce bearing and/or using counterfeit and confusingly similar imitations of one or more of the L-Acoustics trademarks,” according to court documents.

The case followed a raid at Se7en Sounds premises in Tampa that uncovered 136 counterfeit L-Acoustics products, including K2, KARA II, and SB18 speakers, which the lawsuit claimed “are of a quality substantially different than that of L-Acoustics’ genuine goods.”

L-Acoustics also won the right to destroy the 136 counterfeit products confiscated during the investigation.

“A judgment of this magnitude is a first in the professional audio industry,” said the company in a statement. “It confirms the absolute importance L-Acoustics places on deterring the manufacture, sale, and rental of fake L-Acoustics products and serves as a warning to those who contemplate infringing the company’s IP rights.”

L-Acoustics produces around 50,000 speaker units each year that are used in live music venues and other large-scale installations, and has estimated annual revenues upwards of $100m per year.

Last year, the company successfully prosecuted five counterfeiters in China who were found guilty and sentenced to jail for producing and selling counterfeit copies of its loudspeakers from premises in Shiji Town, Guangzhou.

It says the safety risks associated with counterfeit loudspeakers are not limited to suboptimal audio performance, as fake products also expose operators and the public to hazardous safety risks and severe legal liabilities if an accident occurs.

“We have zero tolerance for counterfeiting, and this judgment makes it clear that not only manufacturing counterfeit equipment but also renting and selling fakes is illegal and punishable by law,” commented L-Acoustics’ senior legal counsel Laurent Ostojski.

“It sends a strong message to service providers who profit by deceiving end-users and promoters by providing inferior and unsafe counterfeit equipment.”