Academic activity model of court hearing sessions

Academic Activity Model of Court Hearing Session

Plaintiff Role

Good morning, my name is Nicholas Youseff and I was born in La Crescenta, California. Currently, I work as a franchisee of Armani in Kuwait. I received my license in 2000 to sell and distribute Armani in Kuwait, something that I have been doing for the last 15 years. It is a renewable license. As an official franchisee of Armani, it is my job to ensure that the brand is protected. In part this means that I\'m responsible for making sure that all clothes which are sold in Kuwait and which bear the official Armani logo, are in fact authentic. If there are counterfeit brands of Armani wafting around the area where I am an official seller, it becomes problematic for me, and it also undermines the integrity of the entire Armani brand. In the last two years, I found repeated incidences of clothes in Kuwait which bore the Armani trademark, but which were not in fact authentic Armani clothes. I have thus filed suit against the sellers of these items. This is my responsibility as a franchisee: it is my responsibility to the brand and it is something which I absolutely have to do in order to ensure that the products I sell continue to sell. Armani is an unparalleled luxury brand and it is my job to protect it. Cheap products which resemble the elite Armani brand undermine our sales and demean the Armani name. Allowing counterfeits to be available on the market is incredibly harmful to my business as a whole. It is absolutely vital to trade and free enterprise that we adequately regulate such entities which are harmful to business.

Defendant Role

Hello, my name is James MacEvoy. I sell Armani goods in Kuwait and I have for the last three years. I was not aware that they were counterfeit. The seller that I purchased them from assured me that they were in fact authentic. I asked this seller multiple times, as he was selling them to me at a discounted prices and he assured me repeatedly that they were in fact authentic. This company representative showed me authentic papers and indicated that there were no signs of counterfeiting. In fact, this representative showed me a franchising license. The company representative even showed me details in the stitching and in the Armani logo which indicated that they were authentic. This was all very compelling, and I thought I was doing business with legitimate individuals. In case these items are counterfeited, I don\'t know what counterfeited items look like. I engaged in my own due diligence as a merchant. I took strong pains to ensure that these items were legitimate. In fact that company representative that I spoke to also told me that they were overstock items from the Armani collection which was why they were able to sell them to me at such a discounted price.

Plaintiff Lawyer

Hello, my names is Mark Taperoff, I represent Nicholas Youseff and will be representing him today. At this time, in the Middle East, or in the region defined as the 22 member state of the Arab League, there are no specific \"franchise laws.\" In most areas of the Middle East, the legal systems are founded around civil law for specific franchising legislation, with laws applicable to franchising taken from the group of laws which already exist. These other laws are largely trademark laws, contract laws and the civil code. As a result of the lack of specific franchise legislation, the franchise agreement is the primal document which governs the rights of all involved parties. Thus, as a result of these existing laws, if someone is going to engage in commercial activity, they really should be a commercial agent who is registered with the ministry of economy and commerce and who is specialized in engaging in commercial agency activities. Furthermore, Armani is a clear and absolute commercial agent. My client, Mr. Youseff is a specified agent with a right to the exclusive territory for Armani products. These agents have a right to the entire territory in which they sell: that right is absolutely exclusive. Even if there were another licensed Armani representative, that representative would not be able to sell in Kuwait as well. Youseff has exclusive rights to Kuwait: he is the sole seller to the Kuwait area. Moreover, James MacEvoy is not even licensed to sell Armani products or any products in the state of Kuwait. Thus, his entire presence as a merchant in Kuwait is fundamentally illegal. No other company or agent has any right to sell the Armani brand in Kuwait for any reason whatsoever. \" I ask the court to apply articles 92 and 93 of the section three of the TRADEMARK LAW in Kuwait no. 68/1980 and to sentence Mr. Defendant to the penalties mentioned in these articles.\" Without a doubt, the law is firmly on the side of my client in this matter. The fact that there is no franchise law in Kuwait, is something which can make it seem appealing to foreign companies (Walker, 2014).

Defendant Lawyer

Hello, my name is Matthew Hanover, I will be representing the defendant in this case. I admit that the defendant was selling counterfeit items, but had no knowledge of this issue, as the items looked exactly the same as authentic items. My client engaged in his absolute due diligence and looked at the company representative\'s papers, asking for complete and utter disclosure on the matter. My client was lied to and can be treated as a victim in this entire issue. Furthermore, while I admit that the defendant was in fact selling counterfeited items, he still had no knowledge of this issue, as the items were identical to the ones he was used to seeing. There was absolutely no way for him to know that the items he was purchasing were not from the legitimate Armani Brand. Moreover, because there is no particular franchising law here in Kuwait, there are thus no disclosure requirements for either the franchisor or the franchisee. The law as it stands right now is only dependent on the connection between the parties where the defendant in this case was beholden to misleading information and can consequently be treated as a victim in the matter.