NEW YORK — Tory Burch is taking a stance to protect her popular ballet flats.
River Light V, which produces the Tory Burch line, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit last week against Wanted Stores Inc., Orva Stores and A&E Stores Inc., which does business as Strawberry Stores. The lawsuit alleged that all three companies sold shoes that infringe on Tory Burch’s Reva ballet flat trademark.
According to documents filed March 9 in a Manhattan federal court, the defendants allegedly made and sold ballet flats that bore a confusingly similar logo to the one on the Reva ballet flat, a “TT” design in a circle. The allegedly infringing shoes were sold under different names, including the “Wanted ballet flat.”
“Tory Burch takes infringement of its intellectual property very seriously and intends to aggressively pursue this lawsuit,” said Steven Gursky, partner at the law firm Dreier LLP, which represents River Light.
A&E Stores did not return calls seeking comment. Orva Stores and Wanted Stores could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit claimed the goods in question competed with the Reva shoes and were targeted to the same group of consumers. River Light alleged the defendants’ acts were intentional and were “undertaken in a deliberate effort to cause confusion and mistake among the consuming public as to the source, affiliation and/or sponsorship of said products, and to gain the benefit of the enormous goodwill associated with the River Light trademarks.”
The complaint includes allegations of federal trademark infringement, false designation of origin, false advertising, and common law trademark infringement and unfair competition. River Light asked the court for preliminary and permanent injunctions against the defendants that prohibit them from making or selling products that infringe on its trademarks. The company also asked that the defendants be ordered to deliver all allegedly infringing goods for destruction. River Light is seeking unspecified financial damages.
Tory Burch launched her line of sportswear and accessories in February 2004 with the opening of a flagship in New York. The collection is sold at freestanding stores, specialty chains and department stores throughout the U.S. and Europe, including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s.