Traders sue market over closures

Traders in Beijing's famous Silk Market have filed a joint lawsuit for more than $70,000 in lost earnings after being temporarily shut down during a clampdown on the selling of counterfeit goods.

Beijing Silk Street Market Co Ltd (SSM), which runs the mall, previously well known as a place to buy cheap designer knock-offs, imposed seven-day closures on 29 stalls this year.

But the company is now being sued for compensation, along with Hu Qi, president of Beijing-based intellectual property rights firm IntellecPro. A hearing started at the capital's Chaoyang People's Court on Wednesday and the case was adjourned.