M. Wile & Co. Inc., which does business as Exclusively Misook, filed a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Debbie A. Bridges, who does business as Elegance First, for using its company name on a Web site. According to documents filed in Manhattan federal court on Feb. 22, Exclusively Misook alleged that Bridges used the domain names exclusivelymisook.com and misookclothing.com and represented herself as being approved or sponsored by the company. Bridges was a wholesaler for the company from December 2001 until part-way through 2006, according to court papers. Exclusively Misook asked the court for temporary and permanent injunctions against the defendant, and for actual and punitive financial damages in excess of $1 million. The defendant could not be reached for comment.
Cartier, a division of Richemont North America Inc. and Cartier International N.V., filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Andrew Andrew, Andrew Granger and Andrew Summer on Feb. 15. Cartier alleged that the defendants made and sold jewelry that infringed on its screw-head bracelet design. Cartier asked for a preliminary and permanent injunction against the defendants and for approximately $100,000 in damages. The defendants could not be reached for comment.
In an unrelated case, Cartier filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Ramin Cohen and Masterpiece Jewelry & Watches Inc., which does business as Ramerica Jewelry & Watches and Watchesandwatches.com, in Manhattan federal court on Feb. 8. The complaint alleged that the defendants altered genuine after-market Cartier watches without authorization. Cartier asked the court to permanently restrict the defendants from infringing on its trademarks and for unspecified financial damages. The defendants declined to comment.
Gordo Enterprises filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Nike Inc. for allegedly using its trademark DUB in connection with the promotion and sale of its Air Jordan Dub-Zero merchandise. Gordo asked the court for a permanent injunction and for unspecified financial damages. “We are trying to protect our strong brand image and prevent its erosion. Our brand is our soul. With respect to Skechers, we expect to prevail. We do not bring lawsuits that we plan to lose,” said Michael E. Zall, vice president, general counsel ASICS America Corp.
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Skechers USA Inc. released a statement on Feb. 7 denying trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark dilution and false advertising claims filed against it by ASICS American Corp. According to a company statement, ASICS alleged that Skechers styles have a stripe design similar to its own. The original lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Jan. 26 against Skechers, Zappos.com Inc., and Brown Shoe Co. Inc. and Brown Retail Group Inc., which do business as Famousfootwear.com and Famous Footwear, respectively. ASICS did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The International Chamber of Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeit and Piracy Intelligence Report released a list of the top locations raided for counterfeit goods in 2006. New York’s Canal Street ranked third on the list, behind the Palika Bazaar and the Burma Bazaar, both located in India. Other sites on the list were the New Divisoria Mall in the Philippines, Paddy’s Market in the U.K., Petaling Street in Malaysia and Ratu Plaza in Indonesia.