It’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City, so we’re bringing you the story of a fashion trademark infringement case: Levi Strauss & Co. v. Dolce & Gabbana. And it seems to be déjà vu all over again.
Fellow blogger, CaseClothesed.com has all of the details, so we’ll give you the long and short of it. Levi’s denim jeans (“America’s Original Jeans”) are widely recognized by their pocket design and accompanying red tag that is sewn into the pocket seam. Levi’s has a trademark registration for both the pocket design and the pocket tag. Here’s a copy of the company’s trademark registration for the pocket tab design from Corsearch® Advantage™:
Over the years, Levi’s has brought trademark infringement suits against many apparel companies, protecting its brand. One of those earlier suits involves Dolce & Gabbana. According to the current court filing, in 1998, Levi’s objected to “D&G’s use of a folded ribbon mark sewn into the structural seam of a rear pocket of D&G jeans.” The two parties worked out a settlement, which remains in effect today. Then along comes Dolce & Gabbana’s 2011 collection, which Levi’s claims includes jeans with a tab and pocket stitching similar to Levi’s.
Here are photos of the pocket from a T+B blog team members’ Levi’s (left) and the D&G jeans that are available at Nordstrom (right):
Do you see a likelihood of confusion?
And, what’s your favorite brand of jeans?
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