Five global fashion firms have won a lawsuit against the Beijing Silk Street market, a popular tourist shopping mall that sells fake brand-name goods.

The Beijing Higher People's Court ordered the Silk Street Clothing Market Co.(former Haosen Clothing Market Co.) and its five stall holders to pay each of the five global firms, Chanel, Prada, Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, 20,000 yuan (some 2,500 U.S. dollars).

The five international firms sued the market and the five business stalls last November for allegedly selling pirated copies of their products, demanding 2.5 million yuan (about 310,000 U.S.dollars) in compensation.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ordered in December 2005 the defendants to stop selling fake brand-name goods, and to pay each of the five plaintiffs 20,000 yuan.

The Silk Street company and its five vendors appealed that ruling to the higher court.

Originally an open-air market established in the early 1980s, the Silk Street market has been popular with overseas tourists as one of the "must-visit" spots in Beijing. The market moved into a new building in March 2005.

Source: Xinhua