High street store forced to destroy thousands of copycat designer shoes

Gina, whose shoes are worn by actresses Penelope Cruz, Emma Thompson, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Anna Friel, took action against Moda In Pelle after finding copycat shoes for sale on the internet.

The high street chain agreed to pay the damages and court costs of more than £150,000, a spokesman for Gina said.

It has also agreed to destroy the shoes currently on sale, as well as a further 5,000 pairs in their warehouse. Among the styles copied were the Tallulah, Zeta, Naomi and Colette.

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Attila Kurdash, Gina managing director, said: "The scale and audacity of the copying was such that we had to take hard, decisive action. We spend considerable time and effort in developing and creating our original designs. To have them copied like this is unacceptable."

Lawyer for Gina, Alex Carter-Silk, of firm Speechly Bircham LLP, said: "Gina never hesitates to take action to protect itself against high street plagiarism. It is imperative that brands such as Gina protect the value of their designs and deter copycats.

"This is a salutary lesson for importers and retailers to be extremely careful when dealing in designs of unknown provenance."

Stephen Buck, owner of Moda In Pelle, said he was made aware of the similarities between the shoes by a Gina employee.

But he insisted the parallels were "entirely accidental and unintentional".

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He said: "We responded immediately by withdrawing those shoes and we apologised to Gina for any inconvenience caused.

"As with all highly competitive high street retailers there is the occasional risk that a product made by one company will resemble a product made by another.

"Facing the threat of potential legal action, Moda In Pelle's first instinct was to fight and defend our innocence. However, we were advised by our solicitors that this action could have involved a huge legal cost and would distract management.

"We decided it would ultimately be easier, less expensive, if we made a settlement with Gina."

Moda In Pelle boasts more than 1,000 different lines of shoes and boots in stores across Britain.

Gina was established more than 50 years ago by shoemaker Mehmet Kurdash, who named it after actress Gina Lollobrigida.