Fashion Law
The legal battle over whether YSL infringed on Louboutin’s red sole mark continues. On Wednesday YSL answered Louboutin’s complaint seeking a preliminary injunction. The issue stems from YSL’s red pump with a red sole, which CL argues infringes upon it’s red-sole trademark obtained in 2008. Next Friday’s hearing will determine whether or not stores can continue to sell YSL’s red pump. See original complaint here.
In it’s answer YSL, claims Louboutin can’t show irreparable harm or consumer confusion, which is important in obtaining the injunction. In addition YSL has filed its …
Compagnie Financière Richemont (owner of brands Chloé and Montblanc) filed suit against Tradekey.com. Richemont is alleging Tradekey, a Pakistan based company, knowingly sold counterfeit replicas of the plaintiffs’ products through unauthorized sellers, manufacturers, suppliers and distributors. Tradekey, believed to be one of the largest business-to-business global marketplace e-commerce sites, was founded six years ago, and sells goods in over 240 countries.
Plaintiff claims Tradekey not only helps manage listings by counterfeiters–editing postings and removing the term “replica” from their title, but it also provides search engine optimization services to its members …
Marvin Johnson was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for trafficking in counterfeit goods. Johnson was also required to forfeit $23,957 in unlawful proceeds seized by officers.
Johnson sold counterfeit luxury apparel and accessories that bore trademarks identical to trademarks used by Coach, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Polo and Nike. Johnson owned and operated a retail store known as “Prestigious Fashions,” and two sales booths, all located in or near Baltimore, Maryland.
Undercover officers purchased counterfeit goods from Johnson who said the …
McQueen Exhibit Attracts New Audience to Fashion:
“What I do is an artistic expression of that which is channeled through me. Fashion is just the medium.” –Alexander McQueen
I finally visited the “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” costume exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was absolutely breathtaking, focusing on McQueen’s fascinating showmanship and his remarkable techniques.
The exhibit is divided into six themes that are distinctive of Mr. McQueen’s work: the romantic mind, romantic gothic, romantic nationalism, romantic exoticism, romantic primitivism, and romantic naturalism. It features fine tailored smoking jackets, explores the interplay of opposites like …
Tory Burch, LLC has been awarded a $164 million judgment against online counterfeiters. In the suit, the fashion label named 41 cybersquatters, primarily of Chinese origin, which it discovered were linked to 232 domain names, including Web sites like “ToryBurchOutletShop.com.” Cybersquatting is registering or using a domain name in bad faith to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else (according to the United States Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act).
A New York federal court awarded the firm damages against operators of Web sites selling fake Tory Burch ballet flats and other footwear, handbags and …
Today, we took at trip to New York’s Garment District where we visited the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Incubator.
The CFDA Incubator program is designed to support the next generation of fashion designers by offering low-cost design studio space, business mentoring, educational seminars, and networking opportunities to the program participants to help grow and sustain the business of the 12 participating tenants over the course of the next two years. The CFDA requires that applicants for the program be somewhat established: applicants must have garnered substantial editorial coverage; have orders …
Today, designer Sigrid Olsen stopped by to speak to our class about her experience in the fashion industry. Olsen’s background as an artist andin textile design led her to the clothing business. She gained a following but, against the advice of her attorney, signed a contract with Liz Claiborne Inc., which purchased the brand from Olsen and her investors.
While there were good times, Claiborne Inc. eventually told Olsen her brand was losing customers and money and that Olsen’s line and stores would be closed. Because Liz still owns the trademark for …
Today marked the start of the Fashion Law Institute Summer Intensive Program. I met some fantastic people from all over the world who all share a passion for fashion and the law! It was amazing to see the diversity around the classroom–design students, law students, attorneys, and industry professionals all wanting to learn more about the relationship between law and fashion.
Once class began, I got the syllabus. While there is considerable debate about intellectual property issues that arise in the industry (trademark, copyright, patent), I’m glad the class will also …
The latest fashion controversy has both Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Louboutin seeing red. Literally. After allegations of copying were claimed by Christian Louboutin, Yves Saint Laurent responded with a $1 million lawsuit.
So who’s the real McCoy and who’s the copy cat? Christian Louboutin claims that their red-soled shoes were created in 1992 with the desire to create energy on the sole, while Yves Saint Laurent argues that red has been used throughout history, and there’s no proper way to trademark a color.
Sorry, Christian Louboutin, we don’t agree with you …
Sites claiming to have “genuine” designer goods, including Christian Louboutin shoes, Louis Vuitton hand bags, and Nike Jordan sneakers create profiles on Facebook to push counterfeit goods. These advertisements on a social networking site are not only annoying, but could potentially cause confusion– it’s easy to think something is legitimate when it uses a high-end brand’s name, logo, and shows up in a search.
If its illegal, WHY is Facebook allowing it?
Although Facebook may not be liable for infringing upon trademarks, they may be obligated to remove such profiles once brand owners complain that their rights have been violated. According to …
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