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11 May 2018Trademarks

Levi Strauss takes on Italian fashion brand over trademark infringement

Levi Strauss is suing Italy-based menswear brand Isaia Corp for infringing its ‘Tab device’ trademark.

The suit was filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday, May 8.

Founded in the 1850s, US-based Levi Strauss claims to be one of the oldest and best-known apparel companies in the world.

One of the company’s trademarks is the ‘Tab device’, which is made up of a “textile marker or other material sewn into one of the regular structural seams of the garment”, including a back pocket. The trademark is used on Levi Strauss’s jeans and a variety of other clothing.

The tab is protected by US trademark numbers: 516,561; 1,157,769; 2,791,156; 356,701; 577,490; 774,625; and 775,412.

Levi Strauss alleged that Isaia has manufactured, marketed and sold “substantial quantities” of jeans that feature a pocket tab similar to its own. The claim stated that this is likely to confuse consumers about the source of Isaia’s products and/or the relationship between Levi Strauss and Isaia.

The plaintiff said that Isaia’s infringing activity will cause “irreparable harm for which money damages and other remedies are inadequate”. Levi Strauss said that the defendant will continue the alleged infringement and cause irreparable damage unless the court intervenes.

Isaia is also being sued for unfair competition and dilution of famous marks.

Levi Strauss is seeking damages, lost profits and an enjoinment preventing Isaia from manufacturing the supposed infringing products.

In April this year, Levi Strauss sued French luxury house Kenzo for infringement over the use of the ‘Tab device’ trademark on some of Kenzo’s trouser pockets. The allegedly infringing clothes included a new line featuring singer Britney Spears.

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More on this story

Trademarks
2 October 2017   Clothing brand Levi Strauss has sued a Connecticut-based company for trademark infringement relating to “tabs” attached to the back pocket of trousers.
Trademarks
3 November 2016   Multinational clothing company Levi Strauss has filed a trademark infringement complaint against a US business.
Trademarks
13 June 2018   UK-based luxury brand Barbour has called out jeans maker Levi Strauss over its “severe overreaching” in protecting the use of tabs on the back pocket of trousers.