Taking Chanel buttons from the brand’s garments and refashioning them into jewelry runs afoul of trademark law. That is what Chanel argues in a newly-filed complaint, in which it accuses accessories company Shriver + Duke of “misappropriating” its “world famous and federally registered” interlocking “C” monogram trademark and its “Chanel” word mark in order to “create and market costume jewelry that draws and relies on the selling power and fame of the Chanel marks.”
According to the complaint that it filed in a New York federal court on February 12, Chanel alleges that Atlanta, Georgia-based Shriver + Duke, which describes itself as a “handcrafted modern sophisticated accessory line,” and its founder, jewelry designer Edith Anne Hunt (the “defendants”) are taking authentic “buttons bearing the CC monogram that are not intended for use other than on Chanel’s authorized clothing” and putting them on chains, earrings, and bracelets, which they then offer up for sale for upwards of $100. In promoting and marketing the jewelry on the shiverandduke.com e-commerce website, alongside jewelry that is made from Louis Vuitton and Gucci hardware, buttons, and canvas, the defendants “refer to the jewelry as ‘designer’ and in some instances, have used the CHANEL mark to identify their CC monogram button jewelry,” Chanel asserts.
