Karl Lagerfeld sues Taiwan entertainer for counterfeiting

Hsiung Hsiu-hui (known locally by her stage name, Hsiung Hai-ling), 52, and her sister Hsiung Hsiu-chen, 44, were charged for reneging a four-year-old agent contract with Sunrex Sarl, a company co-owned by Lagerfeld and French physician, Jean Claude Houdret, for the popular slimming product, Spoon Light.

The Hsiungs began talks with Sunrex Sarl in France in 2005 and brought back some Spoon Light pills, which they gave to an entertainer friend, Yang Chieh-mei. Yang successfully shed 13kg after two months of taking the product and exercising. The Hsiungs struck a deal with the French company the following year and procured euro 50,000 (NT$2.24 million) worth of Spoon Light and Spoon Cut for distribution in Taiwan, said Chen Wen-hsu, Taiwan head of Sunrex Sarl. After the products showed strong sales, however, Hsiung Hsiu-hui stopped ordering them from Sunrex Sarl. She instead subcontracted a Tainan pharmaceutical company to produce her own version of Spoon Light with raw materials she obtained from France, Chen said.

The French headquarters of Sunrex Sarl sent three letters to Hsiung demanding explanations and requiring her to honor the contact, but they were all unanswered, Chen said.

Last November, a friend of the company reported the case to investigators in Changhua County, who later forwarded the case to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office.

Chen also emphasized that tests by Jean Claude Houdret on Hisung's self-made pills showed that they were completely different from the French original. The physican came to Taiwan on Feb. 1 and gave the test results to prosecutors as evidence.

In response, Hsiung Hsiu-hui maintained her innocence, saying that people should know what kind of person she is and that she has always taken care of her siblings.

Hsiung Hsiu-chen, on the other hand, claimed that she and her sister are the rightful owners of the trademark in Taiwan, which some people are trying to steal.

Prosecutors also charged Yang for endorsing Hsiung's counterfeit product despite the fact that she had taken the original and should be able to tell the difference.

Another entertainer who had appeared in commercials for Hsiung's product, Yu Fang, was not charged because she was given the self-made pills from the beginning and had no knowledge of the fraud, Chen said.

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