A Manhattan federal judge has dismissed Louis Vuitton’s claim that its Monogram Multicolore handbags designed by the artist Takashi Murakami were knocked off by accessories maker Dooney & Bourke.
The trademark lawsuit – filed by Louis Vuitton in 2004 – was unusual because it involved one high-profile fashion brand suing another.
Other recent patent-infringement cases in fashion have included Fendi’s lawsuit against Wal-Mart, and designer Diane von Furstenberg’s suits against Target and Forever 21.
In a 54-page decision, US District Judge Shira Scheindlin noted “obvious similarities” between the colorful line introduced by Louis Vuitton in 2002 and Dooney & Bourke’s “It Bag,” launched several months later. Both designs feature interlocking, two-letter monograms (“LV” and “DB,” respectively) on a white or black background.
Still, no confusion is likely to result among the sophisticated shoppers that tend to buy the two brands, the judge ruled.
She added a former exec’s testimony suggested that Louis Vuitton was more motivated to sue by its “distaste at being associated with the It Bag.”
While Louis Vuitton bags typically retail for thousands of dollars, Dooney & Bourke’s products commonly sell in the $100s.
Louis Vuitton, which said it will appeal the decision, racked up sales of more than $145 million in items in the US bearing the multicolored designs through late 2006, according to court documents. In a controversial move, the artist Murakami began selling the handbags at his spring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.
Dooney & Bourke’s It Bags reported $100 million in sales during the same time frame, according to court filings.
The Norwalk, Conn.-based company could be put in an awkward situation by the successful litigation, said Douglas Masters, a partner at Loeb & Loeb in Chicago.
“For every time they defend themselves in a case like this, they’re going to prosecute a hundred others” against no-name knockoff manufacturers, Masters said. “Dooney & Bourke has to worry about how this could be coming back to bite them on the other side.”