Laws protecting intellectual property are very important, especially to businesses. Copyrights and trademarks are often the lifeblood of a particular business as they can be very important for brand recognition. When it comes to fashion, patterns and even colors can be very important for brand recognition.
Take for example, the red soles of Christian Louboutin shoes. When people hear the phrase “red bottoms” chances are they immediately think of Louboutins. Which is why Christian Louboutin filed a lawsuit against Yves St. Laurent (YSL) when YSL also came out with shoes that had red soles.
Although a camouflage pattern may not bring one particular brand to mind, a company that has a copyright camouflage pattern will want to protect its designs. So, it’s no surprise that Jordan Outdoor Enterprises has filed a lawsuit against Kanye West’s company, Yeezy Apparel, for ripping off its camouflage patterns.
Protecting the Camouflage Pattern
In the complaint filed in federal court, Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, a Georgia-based clothing manufacturer, claims that Kanye West’s company “incorporated Jordan’s copyrighted camouflage patterns into its products without authorization.”
According to the lawsuit, Yeezy was aware that Jordan is the copyright owner of the camouflage patterns that are the subject of the suit. In fact, the complaint alleges that a Yeezy representative reached out to Jordan in March 2016 about using the designs, and was told that they’d need to submit a licensing application in order to use the design.
The lawsuit also alleges that the terms and conditions on Yeezy’s website provides false and misleading information about its use of the design.
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