Guess who copied Gucci! Yes, Guess!

Fashion law update on the case of Gucci v. Guess

The Guess sneaker above was found guilty of many counts of trademark dilution ;)

Super quick recap: Three years ago, Gucci filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Guess. For more info read my first post about this case (here).

Super quick update: Yesterday, Guess was ordered to pay Gucci $4.66 million (of the $221 million sought) for trademark infringement!


Judge Scheindlin (Judge Shira Scheindlin, not Judge Judy Sheindlin), found Guess guilty of four out of the five trademark fashion law crimes alleged by Gucci. Guess's use of script mark was the only thing that got away here because script fonts are extremely common in the fashion industry.

I previously discussed that Gucci might have some hurdles over the statue of limitations. Judge Scheindlin's opinion explained that 

"although the Lanham Act does not include a statue of limitations, the Second Circuit has held that the six-year limitations period from New York State fraud law applies." However, as trademark infringement is a 'continuing wrong.' the statute of limitations defense only applies to bar monetary recovery beyond the statutory period, and does not limit the availability of injunctive relief." 

As to dilution, since Gucci had no evidence of actual dilution, the Judge granted summary judgment on this point.


I will not regurgitate what you can read in the opinion (here). This opinion was a quick and fun read. If you enjoyed my previous posts discussing likelihood of confusion then you should take a look at how a Judge goes through the different factors.


...But what does it all mean?
Well, aside from the money Guess will have to shell out to Gucci, it will have to spend a lot more pesos to change up its trademark infringing designs and logos. The fashion world shall say goodbye to Guess's interlocking G logos. But do not fret! Guess will likely find new "inspiration" for us to discuss!

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