Man’s trade mark breach defence is only ‘ráiméis’

A businessman caught with 16,000 UGG-style boots and over 200 loose UGG labels denied breaching the Trademarks Act and said: “I thought about it definitely but I did not do it.”

However, Judge James O’Connor rejected the claim by Michael Fennell, 60, of Laburnum Grove, Onslow Gardens in Cork as “ráiméis, balderdash and Cloud-cuckoo-land stuff.”

Fennell was yesterday fined €500 at Cork District Court for the offence of having the UGG tags with a view to breaching the Trade Marks Act.

His son Alan Fennell, aged 30, of Kilmona, Grenagh, Co Cork, was fined €350 for the same offence which was detected at Fennell’s cash and carry operated by Michael Fennell at Hollymount industrial estate on the northside of Cork city.

Inspector Ronan Kennelly applied for the 16,000 pairs of boots to be forfeited to the State.

Judge O’Connor and the inspector both agreed that rather than destroying the property a suitable charity should be found in Africa and the boots could be sent.

Judge O’Connor said the real victim of scammers were the women who thought they were getting a bargain on a €200 item by paying something like €70 only to find they were only worth €5 or €6.

Detective Sergeant Clodagh O’Sullivan obtained confidential information in relation to suspected copyright infringement and she secured a warrant to search premises occupied by Michael Fennell and Alan Fennell at a unit of Hollymount industrial estate on January 30 this year.

She met the two accused and presented the warrant. Up to 16,000 pairs of boots and shoes, many of them having the appearance of sheepskin footwear typical of the UGG brand. A legitimate pair of UGG boots, it emerged, can sell for €250 to €300 in shops in Ireland.

Solicitor Dominic Creedon said that boots of this style without the designer label were widely and cheaply for sale without breaking any laws in many shops in Cork. He held up a pair of boots he purchased in Penney’s carrying a price tag of €6.

Det Sgt O’Sullivan agreed with Mr Creedon’s suggestion the prosecution case was that the accused were “going to try to dress these up as UGG boots”.

She said approximately 8,000 pairs of the seized boots had no label of any kind and 8,000 more had lettering such as UDG or UGL.

Garda Mark O’Shea was part of the search team. “I asked Alan Fennell to empty his pockets. He told me they were empty. In the front left pocket of his sleeveless tan jacket, I found a number of metal tags with the label UGG on them. UGG Australia and r for the registered trademark,” he said, adding that there were 17 labels.

When the defendant was asked about the labels in his pocket he said: “I forgot they were there.”

Detective Garda Liam Lingane searched Michael Fennell’s Mercedes outside and under a mat on the floor, behind the driver’s seat, he found a bag labelled 240 which contained 220 UGG Australia labels.

Detective Garda Andrew O’Connell gave evidence of a garda interview with Michael Fennell in which the defendant said he paid €25,000 for 15,000 pairs of boots. He bought them through a Manchester company and they were made in China.

He said he bought a packet of over 200 UGG labels on the Done Deal website for €50 “just to look at them”.

Summarising Michael Fennell’s position, Mr Creedon said: “He was thinking of putting some of the labels on the boots but decided against it. He did not have a badge machine (to affix them). He was just thinking about it. Having thought about it he decided against it.”

Alan Fennell also said they thought about it but decided against it.

The conviction was on the basis of what was to be done with the loose labels. Only one single shoe had an UGG label attached but both defendants said they had nothing to do with that shoe.