[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that the Intellectual Property Special Judicial Police of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) have referred an operator of discount stores selling the fashion brand ‘Marithé François Girbaud’ to the prosecution on charges of trademark infringement. Amidst a dispute over domestic trademark usage rights between Layer and Clebi that has escalated into a counterfeit controversy, Layer—which has been recognized as the exclusive licensee of the Marithé trademark in Korea following a series of legal victories—has launched a strong response, including filing criminal complaints and collecting reports of consumer damages.
Layer, a fashion subsidiary of Daemyung Chemical Group, and distributor Clebi have been embroiled in a legal battle over the exclusive usage rights for the Marithé François Girbaud (Marithé) trademark. Marithé is one of the popular brands in the fashion industry known as the ‘3-Ma’ alongside Matin Kim and Mardi Mercredi. Currently, Layer is the only entity recognized by the court as the exclusive licensee of Marithé in Korea.
The issue is that stores operated by both Layer and Clebi coexist in major commercial districts across the country, causing confusion among consumers. Near Marithé stores operated by Layer, Clebi and others operate discount stores with banners hanging as signs. While clothes purchased at regular Marithé stores list Layer as the manufacturer on the tag, clothes bought at these discount stores list other companies such as Clebi. As the trademark dispute led to counterfeit issues, Layer filed criminal complaints against the manufacturing, distribution, and sales companies associated with Clebi.
In the midst of this, it was confirmed that the KIPO's special judicial police referred an entity operating Marithé counterfeit stores to the prosecution last June. The special police investigate crimes related to intellectual property infringement and refer them to the prosecution. The location identified for trademark infringement was a discount store in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, operated by the Clebi side, which is located just about 100 meters away from the Myeong-dong store operated by Layer. As these discount stores have spread nationwide, it is reported that multiple cases are under investigation.
The dispute between Layer and Clebi stems from both companies entering into separate license agreements with Marithé. Würzburg Holding S.A. (Würzburg), the owner of the Marithé trademark, signed a contract in March 2023 with Jeon Yun-kyung, former CEO of Clebi, to exclusively manufacture, distribute, market, and sell products bearing the Marithé trademark in Korea. Clebi did not register the exclusive trademark usage rights (the right to exclusively use a registered trademark) after the contract.
In August 2023, upon learning of internal management disputes within Clebi, Würzburg deemed the contract with former CEO Jeon invalid, notified the cancellation of the contract, and returned the contract deposit to Clebi. In October of that year, Würzburg signed an exclusive domestic license agreement with Layer. Following the agreement, Layer registered its exclusive usage rights.
Clebi then filed for an injunction to prohibit Layer from using the Marithé trademark, claiming they had signed the contract first, but the court dismissed this in March 2024. In July 2025, Layer filed for an injunction against Clebi to prohibit trademark use, and the court partially granted Layer’s request, finding that Clebi had infringed upon Layer’s exclusive usage rights. Layer also won the first trial of a lawsuit filed against Clebi on May 12 for the prohibition of infringement of exclusive trademark usage rights, confirming its domestic exclusive rights.
Having gained momentum in the litigation, Layer has moved to take a hardline stance. The company plans to monitor for counterfeit goods and take immediate legal action upon discovery. On the Marithé website, through a 'Notice on Counterfeit Response Following the Ruling on Exclusive Trademark Usage Rights,' Layer emphasized, "The only genuine Marithé products distributed in Korea are those distributed and sold by Layer," adding, "It has been legally confirmed that all products distributed by other companies such as Clebi and Dasan F&C are imitations produced by unauthorized parties."
Layer is also recruiting a joint response team for consumers who have suffered damages from illegal counterfeits. Consumers who purchased counterfeits from non-official channels can submit payment records and product photos to participate in future criminal complaints. Layer stated, "We will review plans for damage relief based on the results of judicial proceedings and internal standards at a later date."
Regarding the collection of reports, Layer explained, "Despite the court ruling confirming the infringement of exclusive trademark usage rights, large-scale consumer damage is continuing due to the distribution of illegal counterfeits. Counterfeit stores are misappropriating images of genuine products or actively misleading customers by claiming they are genuine. We view this as an act that disturbs the distribution order of the entire market beyond just consumer damage, and we are meticulously analyzing the reported damage status."
Meanwhile, Layer is establishing itself as the core of the fashion business within the Daemyung Chemical Group. Recently, the Daemyung Chemical Group reorganized the governance structure of its fashion subsidiaries around Layer. It resolved to have its subsidiary, Layer, reverse-absorb its parent company, Authentic Brands Korea (80%). Once Authentic Brands Korea is extinguished after the merger, the governance structure will be reorganized in the order of: Daemyung Chemical Group Chairman Kwon Oh-il (100%) → Authentic Brands Holdings (79.7%) → Layer.
After the merger, Layer will have under its umbrella Hago House (operator of Matin Kim), Q&B International (operator of 'Off Beauty'), Highlight Brands (operator of brands like 'Kodak Apparel'), Recipe Group (operator of 'Opening Project'), and SLK (a fashion logistics specialist). The merger date is scheduled for August 1.
Regarding future countermeasures, Layer stated, "We will hold the counterfeit distributors accountable to the end for the unfair profits they gained through the infringement of exclusive usage rights and strive to restore the brand value tarnished by these counterfeits. The purpose of our legal action goes beyond a dispute between companies; it is to root out the entire process of counterfeit manufacturing and distribution."