Accomplished and talented fashion designer Marc Jacobs is suing tacky, hack designer Christian Audigier for trade dress and trademark infringement of one of his purse designs. Jacobs feels that one of Audigier‘s tacky purse designs looks almost exactly like his design for the Marc Jacobs Pretty Nylon tote bag. Here are the purses, side-by-side, along with some deets of the lawsuit:

Designer Christian Audigier’s Nervous Tattoo, Inc. is being sued by Marc Jacobs’ company for trade dress and trademark infringement over purse designs. Marc Jacobs designs apparel and accessories, including purses, and has a pending application for its random “Marc Jacobs” scrambled trademark. Marc Jacobs has applied the scrambled trademark to the inside lining of the “Marc Jacobs Pretty Nylon” tote bag. And the tote bag’s “size, shape, color or color combinations, product design, texture, and selection and arrangement of materials and accessories” are claimed to serve as its trade dress. Plaintiffs accuse Defendants of selling tote bags that “bear trade dress that unlawfully copies or imitates Plaintiffs’ unique, distinctive, and non-functional Marc Jacobs Pretty Nylon Tote Trade Dress and/or that unlawfully bear marks confusingly similar to the Marc Jacobs Scrambled Trademark.” In addition, Plaintiffs assert claims for unfair competition under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 and constructive trust.

I understand the precedent in cases like this holds that if the two designs bear overt product name labeling, then the plaintiff has no claim of consumer brand confusion. It’s evident that the designs look almost identical … I have to say I’m on Team Jacobs here. The Ed Hardy line is so fug IMHO, it’s a shame that a design created by a designer with talent might get confused with a tacky hack like Christian Audigier. What do y’all think … does Marc Jacobs have a case here?

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