Popular brands take fight against conterfeiters to the Web. (Up Front).

Imitation may be a form of flattery, but local apparel makers see it as grounds for war.

Oakley Inc., Paul Frank Industries Inc., Quiksilver Inc. and other clothing makers say they spend millions of dollars each year shutting down counterfeiters who have hijacked their styles and logos -- and eaten into their profits.

Apparel makers battling counterfeiters is nothing new, but the playing field has changed. Internet auction sites have popped up and become a new way to sell fake gear. Counterfeiters have also become savvier, even coming up with business plans that include sales representatives hawking imitation apparel, right down to the copied tags and labels.

As brands grow, their problems multiply. "Counterfeit fighting is like fighting a drug war," said Vance Lommen, Qaldey's director of legal affairs and security. "It has the same type of players."

Paul Frank Industries, known for its cartoon monkey Julius, had only limited dealings with knockoffs when it first started in the late1990s. As Paul Frank's popularity has boomed, so have its woes.

Four years ago, the company hired law firms to protect its trademark. Last year it brought on two trademark-watching companies.

"It's getting worse," said John Oswald, Paul Frank's chief executive. "We have pretty severe problems all over the world. We just need more eyes."

Losing 'millions'

The company spends "hundreds of thousands of dollars" each year on legal fees, Oswald said. It has no choice. "It's something that you plan on doing if you grow your brand high enough to where they see you have value," Oswald said. "We go after everybody, small or big. It's really the only way to combat the problem."

Oswald estimated that Paul Frank easily loses "millions" of dollars each year to counterfeiters. Last year it confiscated 50,000 imitation pieces in different parts of the world, most of which were burned or cut up.

Knockoff T-shirts and purses with the company's monkey have landed on New York's Canal Street, infamous for street vendors selling fake Kate Spade and Gucci merchandise. "I guess they say you've kind of made it if you've landed on Canal Street," Oswald said.

Despite the time and money it takes to fight knockoffs, apparel makers say it's worth it because counterfeits usually are cheaply made and sold in big quantities.

Plus, buyers can't always tell the difference. A pirated Paul Frank purse features the company's monkey, label and hangtag that reads "thank you for purchasing this genuine Paul Frank Industries product."

Under scrutiny, though, the copycat purse has stitching errors and is made of cheaper material. But it was good enough to fake out Paul Frank's receptionist, who checked a real Paul Frank bag and then a fake and said, "Both are ours."

Consumer confusion can tarnish a brand's cachet. "It would be detrimental to our fashion image," said Frank Sinatra, chief executive of Irvine-based surfwear maker Stussy Inc.

Stussy, which spends $1 million to $2 million a year protecting its trademark, works closely with the Western Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, a 30-member group of apparel and shoe companies started in 1993 that sweeps swap meets in search of ripoffs.

In most cases, violators settle to avoid a trial. But other times they use the "747 defense," said the company's attorney, John Sommer. "You get on a 747 and go somewhere else," he explained.

The latest front: online auction sites. "This is a new war for Oaldey and for other companies," Lommen said. "Counterfeiters can hide deeper online than in person."

Oakley must make an online buy and "try to sell our problem to a law agency that will take the case," Lommen said. "If criminal charges cannot be obtained, we will file the proper civil suit against them," he said.

For the first four months of the year, Oakley halted more than 4,400 auctions of imitation products around the globe, mostly on eBay, Lommen said.

Oakley and others, including Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver and Paul Frank, say they log on to check out what's being offered and work with San Jose-based eBay Inc. to stop fake gear sales. "Once someone sees it and I get a hold of eBay, it's gone within an hour," Oswald said.

Foothill Ranch-based Oakley mounts one of the more aggressive efforts. It spent more than $2 million going after counterfeiters last year and seized more than 1 million counterfeit products, mostly sunglasses, which led to about 460 arrests. So far this year, Oakley said it has found about 639,000 products, leading to 28 arrests.

Oakley even busted a cop selling fake sunglasses on eBay, Lommen said. "We're not stopping," he said.