The court is now the venue for Kering's suit against Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce giant. Kering alleges that Alibaba helps fakers sell goods on its websites. The French firm is not the only one to be incensed.

On July 17 the American Apparel & Footwear Association demanded that Alibaba crack down on counterfeits. Alibaba insists it has extensive measures in place to do just that. A bitter trial looks likely.

The fight against copycats has been long and arduous. Kering's suit is the industry's most important in a decade - Alibaba has more than 1 billion product listings and aspires to reach consumers around the world. But its sites are hardly the only places shoppers can find copies. Fake sales are proliferating online, with counterfeiters becoming more technologically adept, more difficult to track, and harder to pursue in court.

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