So, word on the street is that Levi Strauss is suing Dolce & Gabbana over trademark infringement of the jean company’s famous and widely recognizable back pocket stitching design, including the red ribbon sewn into the side of the pockets. As it turns out, Levi’s went after D&G in 1998 for this very same problem (and a lot of other companies over the years), and the two fashion giants settled back then. However, according to Levi Strauss, D&G’s 2011 collection is in breach of the 1998 settlement agreement.
You can read more about this case on Trademarks and Brands and view the legal Complaint on Sribd here. (Hint: If you don’t feel like reading all of the Complaint, read pages 4-6 to get the gist of the issue and then skip to page 66, which is the beginning of the Exhibits and shows pictures of the brands of jeans that are allegedly infringing Levi Strauss’s pocket design trademark.) Below you’ll find a picture of the Levi’s pocket and a drawing of the D&G pocket, respectively, which I have pulled from the public records on United States Patent & Trademark Office’s website. Are the two designs so similar, that you’re confused between the two brands? If so, Houston, we have a trademark problem.
Fashionably Yours,
Nik
(P.S. Reminder: None of this is legal advice, please review my Legal Disclaimer.)
