Rome, Italy: Italian fashion house Versace said a court in Los Angeles awarded it 20 million dollars ($28 million) in a vast counterfeiting and trademark case in the United States.

Versace said that in 2003, US police seized 72 retail stores in southern California and Arizona and charged 110 people for selling counterfeit goods bearing brand names owned by the company.

"We have won a historic judgement," said Versace chief executive Gian Giacomo Ferraris, adding that the award represented a signal for all Italian exporting companies.

Versace said in a statement the compensation was "the highest ever obtained by an Italian company in a case brought abroad in defence of their brand name."