Three Canadian companies caught selling Louis Vuitton and Burberry knock-offs committed more than just a fashion faux-pas, say lawyers for the haute couture giants, who are suing the companies in federal court.

Vancouver-based companies Singga Enterprises Inc. and Carnation Fashion Company, along with Altec Productions of Toronto, violated trademark law with their phoney fashions, said Michael Manson, lawyer for the fashion houses.

The plaintiffs are seeking up to $3 million in damages for trademark and copyright infringement in what could be the "largest anti-counterfeiting judgment in Canadian history," Manson told the court Tuesday, the first day of the hearing.

Singga and Altec were involved in large-scale, sophisticated manufacturing operations in China and imported vast amounts of fake goods with the intent of selling them nationwide at stores, gift shows and online, he said.

The lawsuit came after two years of private investigations by the fashion houses.

According to Manson, the two companies had a business arrangement whereby Singga Enterprises placed large orders with the Toronto-based company and referred customers to Altec for a commission.

"This is not a one-off sell by some little distributor... 1/8investigators 3/8 were being offered not 10, 20, 50, but 500," he said, adding that Louis Vuitton and Burberry were not targeting "mom and pop" stores.

Manson said despite the lawsuit, Altec Productions has continued its operations and shown a "blatant disregard for the law" in its attempts to have the hearing delayed. That is in part why the plaintiffs are seeking such high damages.

That's not the case with Jessie Guo, owner of Carnation Fashion Company of Vancouver, who lawyers say has been fairly co-operative throughout the legal proceedings.

They suggested she owes them one-half to one-third less than the damages the two larger companies should pay.

The investigators also looked into the back-room sales of fake bags.

The court was told that investigators found a back room where Guo sold fake handbags imported from China. She was suspected of having links to the national operation because her shop was a storefront for Singga, but Manson said there was no way to be sure that was the case.

Guo admitted to selling the bogus bags but said she wasn't aware of Canadian trademark and copyright laws. And she denied having links to Singga Enterprises or its owners, Lisa Lam and Kenny Ko.

"I didn't know selling counterfeit goods was that serious in nature," Guo, who represented herself, said through a Cantonese-language translator.

Guo said she only made purchases under $10,000 from China twice a year since her store opened in 2002. She also said she didn't know what Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Burberry were until customers started asking for similar products.

"I went to the night market in Richmond and I saw there were those kinds of goods available," said Guo, who said she bought a few knock-offs to sell for $20 to $30 each.

At first, she said, there wasn't much demand and she only sold a few bags.

But Manson said fashion companies that rely on their brands for profits have been hit hard by the counterfeit fashion industry.

"If the RCMP and their prosecutors had more resources we might be in a different venue," he said, adding that the offending groups exhibited "obfuscation and subterfuge" and a blatant disregard for the law.

"They don't look at brand-owners' rights as something they have to respect."

The owners of Altec Productions or Singga Enterprises were not in court but a request for adjournment was denied.

A paralegal with Mary Lee and Associates requested an indefinite adjournment via videolink on behalf of Monica Mac and Pablo Liang, of Altec, saying they'd left Canada to deal with "a last-minute crisis."

The court was told that the Liang's business associate, Gordon Chan, has been detained indefinitely by the Chinese government when he tried to return to Canada to attend the hearing.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said Altec was simply trying to delay the proceedings yet again.

A ruling is expected in a couple of weeks.