shutterstock-149255888-web
Tupungato / Shutterstock.com
25 January 2017Copyright

Forever 21 squares off against copycats

Fashion retailer Forever 21 has taken aim at two copycats in an infringement claim brought earlier this week.

Filed on Monday, January 23 at the US District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division, the lawsuit claimed that C Luce (doing business as TCEC) and Cornerstone Apparel (which does business as Papaya) had designed and sold clothes that infringed Forever 21’s copyright.

The retailer alleged that the companies had infringed US copyright number VAu 1-143-889, a pattern that features on harem pants sold by Forever 21.

According to the suit, TCEC and Papaya had “intentionally and wilfully” applied the infringing designs to clothing and used them in advertising materials.

“Particularly in light of the success of Forever 21 and Forever 21’s clothing, as well as the reputation Forever 21 has gained, Forever 21 and its products have become targets for unscrupulous individuals and entities who wish to unlawfully imitate Forever 21’s copyrighted styles and designs,” said the claim.

The retailer also claimed that the defendants had committed contributory infringement by inducing and profiting from the copying and selling of infringing garments and fabrics by unnamed defendants.

Forever 21 is seeking injunctive relief, an award of profits, punitive damages, a return of the defendants’ “ill-gotten gains”, destruction of the infringing goods, a jury trial and attorneys’ fees.

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Copyright
26 October 2017   It’s been a busy year for Forever 21 in terms of IP lawsuits, with the retailer taking on luxury brand Gucci and accusing Adidas of taking its protection of its ‘three-stripe’ trademark too far.