Supreme Italia, which is only one letter different from well-known fashion brand "Supreme", for many years not only "legally sells fakes", but also cooperates with famous artists. Launched a joint name with Samsung. . The six-year lawsuit between two parties finally came to an end this month. The father and son, owners of Supreme Italia, have not only been awarded over ten million dollars in damages, but they will both go to jail for it.
Founded by James Jebbia in 1994, Supreme is one of most influential streetwear brands in world. However, when brand entered European market in 2017, it faced its worst "natural enemy": "Supreme Italia", owned by British company International Brand Firm (IBF), was first to register its trademark in 2015. Not only can it legally exploit Supreme's reputation in Europe to sell products, but has even expanded its business to China and Singapore.In 2018, Supreme Italia even made a big statement about "strategic collaboration" at Samsung's press conference on new machines in China; scene was invited to "general manager of brand", which was clearly not James Gebbia, who immediately attracted. It also made many people realize that "Supreme" and "Supreme Italia" are two different brands that have nothing to do with each other.
After spending many years litigating Supreme Italia violations and facing many setbacks, good news of a successful appeal has finally come out recently. IBF owner Michele Di Piero and his 24-year-old son Marcello were sentenced to eight and three years each on two counts of fraud, and company was ordered to pay $10.4 million.
Since neither Michele Di Pierro nor his son were brought to trial, authorities issued warrants for their arrest. However, for Supreme, loss that needs to be made up may be difficult to recover because, according to a Bloomberg report, only £300 is currently left in IBF's central account. James Gebbia once stated in an interview during trial that he was completely helpless about infringement: “People should know that a legal counterfeit is a farce. These people take full advantage of our uninformative and reserved style.” if a new generation of people think that this behavior is actually legal, it's very sad."