Alexander Wang's Bittersweet Legal Award

Alexander Wang has been awarded $90 million in damages after successfully suing over 45 defendants operating 459 websites that sold counterfeit goods bearing its name. The brand, however, is unlikely to receive the actual amount, as the owners of the domains selling the illegal goods are impossible to trace.

"The court system regularly awards very large amounts for the symbolic significance, as a means of deterring other individuals and parties. In other words, Alexander Wang is unlikely to receive $90 million," according to a spokesperson for the brand, reports WWD.

It is the first counterfeit case that the company has pursued. Its chief principle officer, Dennis Wang, stressed that it "takes its intellectual property rights very seriously".

"Protecting our brand requires maintaining constant vigilance on a global scale, as well as taking proactive measures such as sending cease and desist orders directly to domestic and foreign counterfeiters, as well as contacting website servers that host counterfeit sites," continued Wang in the brand's statement. "The creativity and originality of our designs are the foundation upon which the company is based."

The ruling comes in the same week that Alexander Wang lent its name in support of Apple in its high-profile intellectual property court case with Samsung. Along with other designers, including Paul Smith, Alber Elbaz, and Nicolas Ghesquière, Wang signed an "amicus brief", a legal document filed by people or brands not directly involved with a case but who have a strong interest in the subject matter and its outcome.