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17 June 2015Trademarks

Louis Vuitton cleared as ‘Red gold’ trademark found generic

A Californian court has ruled that a trademark for ‘Red gold’ is generic, reversing an earlier decision that said Chris Aire Fine Jewelry & Timepieces had a valid trademark for the term.

The decision, issued by the US District Court for the Central District of California on Friday, June 12, clears luxury brand Louis Vuitton of trademark infringement.

Last year, the same court rejected the luxury brand’s motion for summary judgment that some of its jewellery products did not infringe the ‘Red gold’ trademark.

It also found that the mark, despite once being generic, was valid. Judge Dolly Gee said there was sufficient evidence for a trial by jury.

In 2010, Solid 21 sued Louis Vuitton and 14 other luxury jewellers for allegedly infringing the ‘Red gold’ mark. The suit was filed on behalf of Chris Aire Fine Jewelry & Timepieces, which had obtained the mark from the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2003.

But in the latest ruling, Gee reversed her own decision that the trademark is not generic and granted Louis Vuitton’s motion for summary judgment.

Gee stated that her previous ruling was an incorrect interpretation of a US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling on a dispute involving the ‘Yellow cab’ mark.

Chris Aire said the decision was a “disappointing surprise”.

“This case should be tried before a jury and not decided on a technicality. If the same judge can examine identical evidence on two different occasions and rule drastically different, the case is not clear-cut and therefore warrants a trial by jury,” he added.

Louis Vuitton had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication, but we will update the story should the company get in touch.

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Trademarks
11 February 2019   Solid 21 Inc watch company, owned by Nigerian-American watchmaker Chris Aire, is suing Swiss jewelry maker Richemont, alleging infringement of its “Red Gold” trademark.