Levi’s sues Japan-based denim maker for trademark infringement

Dive Brief:

• Levi Strauss & Co. is suing Japan-based denim maker FullCount Co. for alleged trademark infringement and unfair competition, according to court documents.
• The complaint centers on several Levi’s trademarks, including its back pocket embroidered arch design; the Levi’s branded tab, which often appears in red the jeans’ back pocket; the brand’s authenticity guarantee ticket often found in the inside of the garment; and the 501 trademark.
• Levi’s has sued FullCount twice before, in 2009 and 2018, and in both instances, the court granted Levi’s injunctions against FullCount.

Dive Insight:

FullCount was banned from using any “word, term, name, symbol” that would cause consumers confusion about its relationship with Levi’s, according to the 2009 injunction. It was later barred from “manufacturing, licensing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, importing, exporting, advertising, promoting, or displaying” any garment that displays any design similar to that of Levi’s trademarks, according to the 2018 injunction.

In the new complaint, which was filed on Sept. 12 in the Northern District of California federal court, attorneys for Levi’s say FullCount violated the previous injunctions. Levi’s is now seeking a jury trial as well as “preliminary and permanent injunctive relief” in addition to financial compensation.

The complaint references FullCount products that include a red tab with a trademark logo on it, as well as a tag on multiple products that includes the word Levi, and an authenticity certificate.

Two U.S.-based retailers that carry FullCount products, Franklin and Poe Trust Company and Standard & Strange, are additionally named as defendants in the case.

Spokespeople for Levi’s and FullCount didn’t immediately respond to Fashion Dive’s request for comment.