Costco ordered to turn over customers' names to Gucci

NEW YORK - Costco Wholesale, the largest wholesale club operator in the U.S., must turn over to luxury-apparel manufacturer Gucci America the names of all Costco customers who purchased Gucci watches at the company's stores.

The ruling by a federal judge Monday allows Gucci to contact up to 20 Costco customers who purchased Gucci watches, or had them repaired there, to determine if the timepieces were genuine. The judge said five Costco customers may be deposed by Gucci as part of its lawsuit against the Issaquah wholesaler.

Costco had opposed Gucci's request as an invasion of its customers' privacy. U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas said he would allow Gucci to question customers to expedite the 2-year-old lawsuit. Fewer than 1,000 Gucci watches were sold at Costco, he said.

Gucci, a unit of Gucci Group NV of Amsterdam, has contended Costco violated trademark laws by distributing warranty cards with unauthorized reproductions of the Gucci logo. As part of the suit, Gucci says some Gucci watches sold by Costco may have been counterfeit. Costco denies the claims.

Maas said that Gucci may have had another reason for filing the suit against Costco.

"Gucci plainly wishes to discourage its authorized distributors, and others, from selling any Gucci merchandise to discounters such as Costco," the judge said.

Patrick Callans, a lawyer for Costco, said the judge's ruling was unusual. The companies may settle the case before Gucci contacts watch buyers, he said.