In the words of Coco Chanel, “in order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” The fashion scene is being hit hard when it comes to Intellectual Property lawsuits. For example, of the designers that appeared during this year’s New York Fashion Week events back in February, most of them had been in a variety of intellectual property disputes. With Louboutin’s classic red sole, Louis Vuitton’s unique pattern, and Versace’s medusa motif, all of these unique branding techniques have been copied, recreated and sold under different brand names, for usually much cheaper than the original product, which confuses the customers when buying them. These so-called “dupes” are what created issues when it comes to Intellectual Property and the fashion world.
But, it’s not just the patterns that are copied. Fashion Designers run into a problems with people creating “dupes” of their patents. For example, the company Novozymes, a Danish biotech company, developed and patented their technology for their treatment of denim jeans. Novozymes has found itself in patent disputes over other companies infringing on their patents by producing and selling the enzymes Novozymes uses in their denim treatment. Novozymes won this dispute, having their patent deemed valid. The other company was required to stop selling and making the product.
A company’s trademark is very valuable to protecting the brand. Most brands have specific designs and elements that distinguish their brand from others. These elements also help customers easily identify these brands. Popular distinguished brand elements and designs include, for example, the Hermes’ Birkin bag, Converse’s Chuck Taylor sneakers, Burberry’s plaid print, and more. There have been a number of infringement lawsuits that pertain to a famous element or design of a brand. Longchamp, a popular handbag brand, trademarked the design of their Le Pliage bag. In 2015, Longchamp sued Bed Bath and Beyond, a houseware retailer, alleging that Bed Bath and Beyond sold “dupes” of their Le Pliage bag. This dispute was settled, but this is only one instance where a company’s design trademark is infringed.
Intellectual Property law is everywhere and so are “dupes” of famous brand designs. Next time you go shopping and see your famous brand, do a little research to see if that brand has gone through an Intellectual Property dispute. They most likely have.