The jury trial in Chanel’s trademark case against What Goes Around Comes Around kicked off this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. We previously dove into what can be expected of the trial, which is slated to last for at least two weeks, part of which will be presented before a federal jury and part of which will resume before Judge Louis Stanton after the jury has been excused. Chanel needs to make its case for trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition, claims that center, in part, on WGACA’s sale of 51 allegedly infringing handbags, as well as its use of Chanel branding in advertising/marketing campaigns, as well as on social media, which Chanel has argued goes so far as to suggest a connection or affiliation between the two companies for its own benefit when no such arrangement exists.
WGACA, on the other hand, is looking to chip away at Chanel’s claims. So far, this has seen counsel for the luxury resale company question Chanel’s first witness, Joyce Green, managing director of Chanel France, about instances of actual confusion on cross-examination. (While Green initially said she was not directly aware of any actual confusion, she later testified about a consumer looking to use a 15 percent off code from WGACA that included Chanel’s word mark in a Chanel store in New York.) Counsel for WGACA, including criminal defense attorney Yale Galanter, is also looking to drive home the narrative that the case is an example of Chanel – a “Goliath” in the luxury segment – looking to control the secondary market.
Also worth considering: In a note on the case, Baker Botts’ Jacqueline Chan stated that based on Chanel’s claims against WGACA, “non-genuine goods, rather than counterfeits, are perhaps the more pressing source of risk for luxury resellers who authenticate products, [as] most of Chanel’s trademark infringement allegations against WGACA center on WGACA’s sales of Chanel-made products” – including over 50 Chanel bags with voided serial numbers – “that were manufactured by Chanel and met Chanel’s quality control standards but were never authorized for sale by Chanel in the first place.”
Meanwhile, Chanel’s other allegations against WGACA “involve products that did not go through Chanel’s quality control procedures and were not authorized for sale by Chanel,” such as the point-of-sale products, which “suggests that for luxury resellers, determining the validity of the first sale of the product is just as important ensuring the product is not a counterfeit.”
>> More to come on this soon. Keep an eye on our running timeline of the case.
> AI was the topic of conversation in a Senate hearing this week, with the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law hearing testimony from experts on the impact of generative AI on journalism. The general consensus: AI is a threat to journalism and to corresponding IP rights. The key outlier, per Wired, was journalism professor Jeff Jarvis, who “asserted that training [AI models] on data obtained without payment is, indeed, fair use & spoke against compulsory licensing, arguing that it would damage the information ecosystem rather than safeguard it.”
> The FTC also issued its latest guidance on AI this week, alerting AI model-as-a-service companies that the “failure to abide by their privacy commitments to their users and customers” may result in liability under the laws enforced by the FTC.
> Rachel Adin LLC (d/b/a OX) v. H&M: H&M has landed on the receiving end of a patent & trade dress infringement complaint for allegedly co-opting jewelry company OX’s “novel & inventive ornamental” designs.
> Irregular IP, LLC v. Patagonia, Inc: A federal judge in Texas has adopted a magistrate judge’s report recommending that the court grant Patagonia’s motion to dismiss Irregular IP’s case, in which the plaintiff was seeking a declaration that it did not infringe Patagonia’s mountain skyline logo.
> 1661, Inc. d/b/a GOAT v. Goatlift, LLC: On the heels of GOAT recently lodging trademark claims against a fellow e-commerce company, the sneaker/streetwear platform is waging similar claims against fitness brand, GOATLIFT.
> Tapestry v. Meitaotao & Tapestry v. Triple Five International: Tapestry has waged two new counterfeiting cases against sellers of goods bearing its Coach marks. (See those complaints here and here.)
– The latest on Shein’s IPO plans: Shein is reportedly seeking Beijing’s nod to go public in the U.S., a decision that Reuters says “could delay its float plans and comes despite efforts to distance itself from China.”
– Singer Harry Styles has taken a minority stake in British menswear brand S.S. Daley.
– Accenture has agreed to acquire Work & Co, a global digital product company that “blends design, technology, and innovation to help companies create breakthrough products and experiences.”
– Sydney-based supply chain company eCargo Holdings, which “helps brands expand and sell more in the Asia market,” has secured a new $5M private debt facility.
– Cell-cultured leather company Qorium has secured investment from Brightlands Venture Partners and Sofinnova Partners in a new round.
– Italian biotech company Mogu Srl d/b/a Sqim has raised €11M in a Series A round with participation from Kering Ventures.