Footwear has also taken centre stage in the courtroom. In Italy, Loro Piana secured a legal victory against the French e-tailer Parijan, accused of putting “dupes” on the market (what we would once have more simply called imitations) of products from the LVMH-owned brand. In the United States, 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience store chain, has filed a lawsuit against Nike over plans to launch a version of its Air Max 95 model featuring the company’s signature corporate colours: orange, green and red.
Now they call them dupes
The Turin Business Court upheld Loro Piana’s request for an injunction against Parijan: the French e-tailer’s models were found not to be a simple source of inspiration drawn from Loro Piana’s Summer Walk and Open Walk styles, but rather a clear imitation of those designs, including several distinctive elements. Which elements? The light-coloured rubber sole, the soft and unstructured silhouette, and the mock welt positioned halfway up the sole. Not only that. The court also highlighted the tone-on-tone stitching and the characteristic grooved tread pattern, as specified by Legal Community.
The judges ruled that the average consumer could perceive Parijan’s products as a less expensive alternative to Loro Piana’s models. “A product can be recognisable not only through its trademark, but also through the overall visual impression created by specific stylistic characteristics”, states a Loro Piana note quoted by WWD. This Court ordered Parijan to pay EUR 1,000 for every day of delay in complying with the ruling, as well as a penalty of EUR 500 for each product placed on the market in breach of the order. This company was also ordered to reimburse Loro Piana for legal costs.
The dispute in the United States
The American convenience store chain 7-Eleven (with 85,000 stores) has filed a lawsuit against Nike in a federal court in Texas, accusing the company of copying its iconic orange, green and red striped design on a trainer. This product in question is the Air Max 95, due to be released on 11 July — the same date on which the retailer celebrates its annual “7-Eleven Day”. According to court documents reviewed by Reuters, 7-Eleven claims that Nike’s Air Max 95 features an “imitation so similar as to create confusion” with the company’s trademark tri-colour stripe design. The American sportswear giant did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
In the photo: on the left, Loro Piana Summer Walk shoes; on the right, Nike Air Max 95 trainers
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