Knauf Awarded USD 160,000 in Case Against Russian Counterfeiter

A Moscow court has fined a Russian counterfeiter with USD 160,000 (EUR 123,00) in damages for infringing the rights of Knauf, a leading producer of building materials, based in Germany. Knauf CIS representatives stated that this is the largest sum of money the company had won in a case against a counterfeiter.

The Moscow Times reported on September 2, 2010, that the defendant Vladimir Potekhin operated two illegal factories where plaster, cement and other products were made and placed into packages bearing the logos of Knauf and other building materials manufacturers. Potekhin then reportedly sold the goods to retailers and wholesalers in Moscow and the Moscow region.

Knauf CIS representatives have revealed that the company hires private security contractors to help them identify the manufacturers of fake goods.

“Knauf has been battling with counterfeit products for nearly 10 years on our own,” said Gerd Lenga, CEO of Knauf CIS, adding that the company spends millions of euros annually on this effort in Russia.

“Neither the government nor society itself takes the problem of counterfeiting seriously. As paradoxical as it may seem, both the poor and the rich are ready to buy fake products,” stated Knauf’s lawyer Nikolai Piksin.

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Source: The Moscow Times