of the second ranking brand. Louis Vuitton is one of the most counterfeited brands in the fashion world due to its image as a status symbol. Ironically, the signature Monogram Canvas was created to prevent counterfeiting. In 2004, Louis Vuitton fakes accounted for 18% of counterfeit accessories seized in the European Union. The company actively seeks to eradicate counterfeiting, and employs a team of lawyers and special investigation agencies to pursue offenders through the courts worldwide. The company allocates approximately half of its communications budget to counteract counterfeiting of its goods. LVMH, Vuitton's parent company, has described "Some 60 people at various levels of responsibility working full-time on anti-counterfeiting in collaboration with a wide network of outside investigators and a team of lawyers." The company closely controls the distribution of its products. Until the 1980s, Vuitton products were widely sold in department stores, such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. Today, Vuitton products are primarily available at company-owned Louis Vuitton boutiques, with a small number of exceptions noted in upscale shopping districts or inside luxury department stores. Company boutiques within department stores operate independently, and are operated by company managers and employees. LV has an official online store, through its main website. In 2006, the company filed a lawsuit against Colorado-based Manifest Information Services Ltd. (aka Manifest Hostmaster and Manifest.com), through WIPO, in order to compel Manifest transfer the domain name LV.com to Louis Vuitton; the legal action failed and the domain was subsequently acquired by Liverpool Victoria (LV=), England's largest fraternal insurance company. Several high-profile rap music artists have mentioned the company in song lyrics, most notably: Kanye West, Juicy J, and Wiz Khalifa. Louis Vuitton has been operating in China for 30 years and nowadays the country is the main market for the French maison, boasting about 40 offline stores nationwide. "Simple Living" On 13 February 2007, Louis Vuitton sent a cease-and-desist order to Danish art student Nadia Plesner for using an image of a bag that allegedly infringed Louis Vuitton's intellectual property rights. Plesner had created a satirical illustration, "Simple Living", depicting a malnourished child holding a designer dog and a designer bag, and used it on T-shirts and posters to raise funds for the charity "Divest for Darfur". On 25 March, the court ruled in favour of LV that the image was a clear infringement of copyright. Despite the ruling, Plesner continued to use the