It seems that the Spanish Supreme Court is willing to change the panorama that trademark owners have been facing when exercising their rights against counterfeits in Spain.
In its judgment of 13 July 2023, the Court ratified the penalty imposed in previous instances on a private individual for trademark counterfeiting and to pay compensation for “moral damages”, considering that the mere possession of the counterfeit goods produces a strong reputational damage to the trademark holder.
In this way, it seems to want to break with the traditional position that the Spanish Courts of first and second instance had been holding with regard to damages in cases of counterfeiting, where they systematically reject to grant a compensation to the owner of the affected trademark, as well as a reparation that could compensate the damage caused to the prestige of the trademark (“moral damages”), if the counterfeited goods had not reached the market (for example, because it had been seized by the Police).
