A few weeks ago, Guess lost a major lawsuit to Gucci for infringement on Gucci’s interlocking G logo. The court awarded Gucci $4.66 Million of its requested $120 million and banned Guess from making further knockoffs. The damages were to be split between Marc Fisher, the licensing company responsible for the knockoff Guess footwear, and Guess at $1.9M and $2.3M, respectively. This week, the court ruled that Marc Fisher would be responsible for just under $500K of the $1.9 Million they were originally ordered to pay. Guess of course is happy, Gucci seems to be holding to the idea that the original 1.9 was a calculation error. They seem more concerned with the principle of the mater…. And really, isn’t that what it’s usually about?!??
Louis Vuitton v. Warner Bros.
I really feel like I should have a separate section called “Fashion Law According to Louis Vuitton.” One section of this blog should read “Louis Vuitton” and the other “Everyone Else.” Anyway, Louis Vuitton filed suit against Warner Brothers late last year for use of knockoff luggage in the movie “The Hangover: Part II.” Louis Vuitton, in true dramatic fashion, alleged that the short scene damaged the brand’s identity and could confuse consumers. Vuitton wanted the logos altered for the DVD release of the movie and a portion of the profits from the film. *pause.* The case was dismissed.
I’ve never seen the movie but based on my research, this was a joke in the movie. Even without having seen the movie, I can safely say the suit is ridiculous. I ASSURE you, people watching The Hangover are not there for the Louis Vuitton or other knock off, they are there to laugh. This is one of those exercise discretion lawyer moments when you have to realize something is simply not worth it. Now, if this was the first absurd suit I could think of by Vuitton, I would say “hey, we’re all entitled to a few” but given that this is at least the second since I’ve been writing this blog, (See Penn State cease and desist) I’m kind of over it. Seriously guys. We get it. You are policing your mark. You don’t want anyone using it, but y’all might want to chill just a bit. Parody is perfectly allowed under the first amendment. Let it go and go on to something more pressing.
Designer Collabs: Margiela and Narcisso Rodriguez
In the midst of all the H&M/Maison Martin Margiela collab madness, the Kohl’s/Narcisso Rodriguez collab flew RIGHT under the radar. Also, over at your local Kohl’s, Vera Wang’s diffusion line is sliding across the aisle and into the Junior’s department. It seems both companies have the appropriate designers for their respective crowds. I’m not a fanatic for the high-low collabs personally for no other reason than the fanfare that surround them, especially at H&M, but I’m sure both lines will be lovely and swooped up in quick order.
BUSTED!!! A Hermès counterfeit ring in France was busted up this week. The interesting spin on this is that several employees were implicated in the scheme. A couple employees were already fired. It seems Hermès knew of the employees’ shady behavior. This is actually the end of a 1-year investigation after Hermès reported abnormal behavior they had observed on the internal security system. Actually, Hermès had the leg up as they kept the employees there so they could lead the police right to the counterfeiters. It’s the difference between firing 3 people and shutting down an entire ring of deceit and keeping thousands of counterfeit bags off the street.
