Levi's files TM suit against jeans company

US multinational clothing company Levi Strauss & Co has sued a jeans company in a trademark infringement and unfair competition complaint.

Levi Strauss filed its suit (pdf) against US-based jeans company Blue in Green at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday, December 7.

In the suit, Levi Strauss argued that the rival jeans company had infringed and diluted its trademarks, competed unfairly and it was in contempt of the court’s previous injunction.

One of the company’s brands, Studio D’Artisan, was issued a default judgment and permanent injunction in a prior lawsuit with Levi Strauss. The injunction forbade the company from continuing to sell jeans with designs that infringe Levi Strauss’ marks.

Levi Strauss owns marks at the US Patent and Trademark Office for the term Levi’s which, according to the suit, have been used for “well over a century”.

Levi Strauss also owns marks for its ‘Tab device’, which is a textile marker sewn into the regular structural seams of the garment.

The company owns marks for its ‘Shirt tab’, a textile marker sewn into the exterior of a shirt pocket. Its marks have been used since 1969.

Additionally, Levi Strauss owns marks for the ‘Two horse design’ and ‘Two horse label design’, which have been used in commerce since 1886.

Blue in Green and under its brand names, Studio D’Artisan, Full Count, Samurai, Eternal, and Kapital allegedly sold certain products which infringed Levi Strauss’ marks.

Levi Strauss is asking for a permanent injunction against Blue in Green, damages, pre-judgment interest, investigative expenses and attorneys’ fees.