Ralph Lauren Says LA company with “retro inspired custom apparel and accessories” Infringe PRL Trademarks

Fashion Law Blog report . …

A Los Angeles-based company’s “retro inspired custom apparel and accessories” have landed it on the wrong side of the law. In a lawsuit filed this week in a federal court in California, Ralph Lauren claims that VNDS Los Angeles is on the hook for trademark infringement and counterfeiting as a result of its  “design, manufacture, distribution, advertisement, marketing, offering for sale, and sale of clothing [that] infringes upon [Ralph Lauren’s] rights” in its famous name, “Polo” trademark, and well-known logo.

According to its complaint, Ralph Lauren claims that it “is a multi-billion dollar operation,” and its trademark-bearing “products are among the most popular of their kind in the world.” With that in mind, by making “willful, intentional and unauthorized use of Ralph Lauren’s trademarks” and by introducing the allegedly infringing products – from swim trunks and t-shirts to hats and duffle bags – “into the stream of commerce in an effort to exploit Ralph Lauren’s reputation,” VNDS Los Angeles has engaged in trademark infringement and counterfeiting, counsel for the 53-year old New York-headquartered brand claims.

“Ralph Lauren has not granted a license or any other form of permission to [VNDS] with respect to any of its trademarks, or other intellectual property,” and so, by selling the goods at issue, Ralph Lauren argues that VNDS – an acronym for “very nearly dead stock,” which refers to stock that never sold and is in new condition – is “likely to cause and is causing confusion, mistake, and deception as to the origin and quality of the counterfeit Ralph Lauren products among the general public,” thereby, running afoul of the law.

At first glance, this might seem like an open-and-shut counterfeiting case. However, it is a bit more interesting than that due to the fact that at least some of the products that VNDS is offering up are created using materials from authentic Ralph Lauren materials. Take, for instance, a canary yellow “Lo Sport” hat, which comes with a front panel emblazoned with the “Polo Sport Ralph Lauren” marks. As it turns out, that hat and others like it are “upcycled [by VNDS] from [the material of] vintage authentic Polo Sport swim shorts.”

Read full article:  https://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/ralph-lauren-files-suit-against-custom-apparel-maker-in-light-of-the-continued-rise-of-fashion-bootlegs