In the midst of New York Fashion Week, Judge Shira Sheindlein delivered a stylish valentine to the fashion law community in the case of Gucci v. Guess?, Inc. , 2012 US.Dist.LEXIS 18497 (February 14, 2012) [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], in which Gucci has asserted trademark...

The global fashion and apparel industry has grown to represent a $3 trillion market. Therefore, a new area of law is required to help guide fashion designers and executives through the legal quandaries peculiar to fashion. Fashion Law: A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives and Attorneys addresses...

By Shannon King The multi-million dollar trademark and trade dress dispute between Italian fashion label Gucci and American designer Guess?, Inc. ("Guess?") marches on toward trial as Judge Shira Scheindlin of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York largely...

On March 13, Vernon Bruce Hoeksema ("Hoeksema") commenced an action in the Southern District of New York (12 CIV 1841) against Asprey International Ltd. ('Asprey")and John P. Rigas ("Rigas") asserting claims of breach of contract, common law fraud, fraud in the inducement...

By Tyler Baker Luxury brand titan Louis Vuitton recently achieved a significant victory over counterfeiting of its designer products. In an action brought in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Louis Vuitton sued the Eisenhauer Road Flea Market, its owner, Bruce L. Gore, and...

By Ashlee Froese of Gilbert's LLP The US Commerce Department, in conjunction with the US Patent and Trademarks Office, recently issued a report that looked at the economic contributions of intellectual property to the US economy. It's no joke. It is estimated that intellectual property-intensive...

Active Sports Lifestyle USA, a manufacturer of active wear for extreme athletes/riders, recently filed a trademark infringement action against Old Navy. Old Navy is accused of infringing the "Active" trademark, which includes Active's triangle design. According to the complaint...

By Karen F. Lederer and Eric L. Unis On April 5, 2012, two consumers filed a proposed class action in federal court in New Jersey against Jos. A. Bank, alleging that the men's clothing retailer perpetually misrepresented its merchandise as being "on sale." The lawsuit claims that the...

By Ashlee Froese of Gilbert's LLP A decision was recently released relating to Toronto Life Publishing Company Limited and its successor company 1772887 Ontario Limited taking on Bell Canada in respect of its fashion-related blog in an opposition proceeding. ( OK - typing out 1772887 Ontario Limited...

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the current hyper-digital age is the ever-shrinking gap between the celebrity and everyman. Nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the realm of the celebrity tweet. Twitter, the pervasive microblogging website, promises thrilling accessibility to prominent...

On Monday, Mara Hoffman, Inc. sued Forever 21 in the Southern District of New York, accusing the retailer of copyright infringement. Mara Hoffman owns a copyright in and to a fabric entitled "Chief." According to the complaint : Defendant has infringed Mara Hoffman's copyright by...

By Ashlee Froese of Gilbert's LLP Zut alors! Christian Louboutin is not having a good year with the judicial system and must be seeing red! CanadaFashionLaw has extensively covered Christian Louboutin's dispute with Yves Saint Laurent in the US, with respect to YSL's use of the...

How come The Hangover II can't keep its grubby mitts out of IP law. Last year, the movie did a bit of copyright battle with Mike Tyson's tattoo artist . That makes a little sense; boxing, tattoos and hangovers might fit into some sort of loose narrative. But could anyone have pictured The...

By Ashlee Froese of Gilbert's LLP Every Wednesday CanadaFashionLaw religiously reads the Trade-marks Journal issued by the Canadian Trade-marks Office ( what can we say - we love trade-marks !!). Something caught our eye that we thought was worthy of a quick blurb. It looks like Advance Magazine...

By Victoria Lee and Ted Max In this hyper-digital age, the designer brand's focus has gradually shifted from primarily print advertising media to reaching consumers through the Internet and many forms of social media with branded entertainment in the form of short fashion films. The fashion film...

Earlier this month, Vera Company sued Liz Claiborne / Fifth & Pacific, alleging that defendants have been selling Kate Spade products, including but not limited to dresses and telephone cases, that infringe Vera's Poppy Field design copyright. The complaint describes the Poppy Field design...

The Worth Collection, which sells clothing, jewelry and fashion accessories, recently filed suit against a Florida business that sells jewelry and fashion accessories under the mark and trade name "The Worth Collection." According to the complaint, the defendants (WCPB) also operate a website...

Fashion designer Alexander Wang on Monday resolved a suit by former employees claiming his Chinatown facility in New York City was a sweatshop where workers were subjected to a hostile work environment because of their race and were denied overtime pay. Read More... .... Sign in with your...

In recent years, the U.S. government has vigorously enforced the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") against individuals and companies representing a variety of industries. Recent press reports suggest that entertainment companies may be the target of current SEC enforcement efforts, and...

By Ashlee Froese of Gilbert's LLP This is not altogether related to the fashion industry but it's pretty darned interesting! And, let's face it, here at CanadaFashionLaw , we can tie almost everything back to fashion!!!! Australia recently enacted probably the toughest law against the...

By Ashlee Froese of Gilbert's LLP France is known for its fashion. Perhaps more importantly within the fashion world, France is known as being one of the last remaining champions of the petites mains : highly skilled tailors and seamstresses that are the "behind the scenes" technicians...

Red M&Ms, red Crayolas red Porsches - let's hope they never end. But what about the famous red shoe battle between designers Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent? You thought there was an end to that red dispute, right? You might be wrong. As reported by Law360 , the USPTO recently...

Under federal law , a person can't own an eagle. In fact, a person can't even own the feather from an eagle. Federal law notwithstanding, nothing prevents a person from owning the representation of an eagle, which is what American Eagle, the fashion company, has done. American Eagle owns...

By Ashlee Froese of Gilbert's LLP It's a good thing that old Montreal is so darned charming because doing business there can cause some retailers a headache! When launching a product or business in Canada it is important to remember that Canada is a bilingual country. And it can be a PR and...

A potentially big Canadian fashion law dispute caught our attention last week and we couldn’t wait to tell you all about it. Canada Goose is taking on Sears Canada over Sears’ sale of allegedly infringing jackets. Below is a summary of Canada Goose’s claims against Sears: - Canada...