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25 March 2019Trademarks

Luggage maker sues over ‘similar’ version sold at Macy’s

US-based luggage designer  Away is suing a competitor for allegedly stealing its trade secrets under the guise of a “potential business opportunity” to produce a product line for the department store  Macy’s.

On Friday March 22, Away filed a complaint at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that luggage manufacturer  Olivet had breached a non-disclosure agreement between the two companies.

Away said Olivet had released a line of luggage in partnership with Macy’s, which is also named as a defendant, that was almost identical to its own.

Away’s trade dress covers its polycarbonate luggage which has a matte finish and comes in a range of colours. Its suitcases are shapes as rounded rectangles whether viewed from the front, the side, or the top.

“This is a case about deception,” Away wrote in its filing.

According to the document, in 2017 Olivet invited Away to “meet and discuss opportunities to develop a partnership”.

Away said the companies later entered into a non-disclosure agreement in which Away disclosed confidential information on how to make Olivet’s shell luggage identical to Away’s.

According to the document, after a partnership between the two companies did not materialise, Olivet entered into an agreement with Macy’s, to manufacture and supply polycarbonate luggage to the store.

Away alleged that in January 2019, Macy's began selling the “Trips Luggage Collection” on its website and retail stories, which was “deliberately designed” to look “strikingly similar to Away’s luggage”.

“The visual similarity between Away’s product line and the infringing Trips Luggage is striking because Olivet copied nearly all of the elements that make up the Away trade dress,” the filing said.

Evidence entered to the court showed screenshots of consumers mistaking the Trips Luggage for Away’s.

Away also submitted a screenshot of the Macy’s website, which showed that if a consumer searched for “Away luggage”, the site would take them to the landing page for the Trips Luggage.

The filing also said Olivet representatives had told Away in 2017 that “Olivet had never produced a suitcase with a matte surface before”.

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