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6 January 2015Trademarks

Victoria’s Secret drops Pink-themed store opposition

Women’s clothing company Victoria’s Secret has reportedly pulled out of a trademark opposition case against a US entrepreneur, ending a year-long fight over its Pink brand.

Victoria’s Secret had last year opposed a trademark registration for ‘The Pink Store’ by Omaha-based Rebekah Doolittle, after claiming that it would cause confusion with its own Pink brand.

But the company withdrew its opposition to the trademark covering her shop, which sells only pink items, at the end of last month.

In an opposition filed in 2013 at the US Patent and Trademark Office, Victoria’s Secret said that the trademark “is likely to continue to cause damage and injury” and could cause confusion by leading shoppers into thinking the goods are connected to Victoria’s Secret’s.

The lingerie company uses Pink branded stores to sell its items.

Christopher Bikus, an attorney at the Omaha office of law firm Husch Blackwell, who represented Doolittle, told the local news website Omaha World-Herald: “We are happy that Ms Doolittle will maintain her trademark registration, and we believe that the two companies can peacefully coexist in the retail space.”

In August Victoria’s Secret lost a trademark battle in the UK surrounding the 'Pink' term, when the English High Court ruled that it infringed a trademark belonging to shirt maker Thomas Pink.

Victoria’s Secret did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

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5 August 2021   The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a Texas court ruling that an online subsidiary of Victoria’s Secret cannot be sued for patent infringement in the state.