Click to view full size

A High Court judge has suggested that US sportswear companies Nike Innovate CV and Puma SE consider donating thousands of seized counterfeit sneakers and slippers to charity instead of destroying them.

Justice Frank Seepersad made the proposal during a hearing on October 1 on the fate of 7,300 pairs of fake Nike, Air Jordan and Jordan-branded slippers, along with 660 counterfeit Puma slippers, that were seized by Customs in December 2023 from Penal-based DB Funstyles Clothing Ltd. Attorneys Miguel Vásquez and Fanta Punch represented Nike and Puma, while Rajiv Sochan appeared for DB Funstyles, which previously accepted liability for trademark infringement. Seepersad ruled in favour of the companies on September 8 and ordered the destruction of the counterfeit stock.

At the hearing on October 1, Seepersad noted that the cost of destruction, estimated at $15,409.92, might outweigh the option of removing brand logos and donating the items to people in need.