Counterfeiters under attack from Louis Vuitton

International fashion firm Louis Vuitton has been successful in getting web hosts to shut down websites selling counterfeit goods with the designer's name.

Three firms, Akanoc Solutions, Managed Solutions Group and Steven Chen have been ruled against in a federal case in California.

The three were found liable for contributory trademark and copyright infringement and the court ordered them to pay $32.4 million (£20 million) in damages.

According to the court, the web hosting firms knew, or at least should have known, that the sites they were supporting infringed or allowed other to infringe Louis Vuitton's trademarks.

The French fashion giant filed the lawsuit in 2007 and the finding is a landmark judgement in terms of cybersquatting and online misappropriation.

Louis Vuitton told the Associated Press that it expects the court to issue a permanent injunction against the web hosting firms.

Louis Vuitton has also been involved in a number of high profile cases against the owners of specific web addresses, such as doctorreplica.com and 7starhandbags.com.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry