Diane Von Furstenberg Sues Forever 21 Over Copyright

Diane Von Furstenberg takes her intellectual property very seriously. Her company has sued Forever 21 last week in Manhattan for copyright infringement. Her company alleges that Forever 21 produced dresses identical to her "Cerisier" and "Aubrey" dress designs and her "small dentelle" "mimosa" and "flower lace border" prints without authorization from DVF and have marketed, advertised, and distributed these dresses. It also said that the scale and color for each design was consciously infringed. Her dresses and prints that were copied were first shown by DVF in her spring 2006 fashion show in September 2005.

DVF asked the court to require Forever 21 to recall and remove from commercial distribution or display any items that infringe on its copyrights as well as any promotional materials related to those goods. The complaint also asked for unspecified financial damages. Von Furstenberg herself spoke recently with WWD about the implementation of a new program at DVF aimed at protecting the brand's intellectual property. The firm established a three-year strategy to address counterfeiting and intellectual property issues.

This is not the first time that Forever 21 has been sued for copyright infringement.

I think that Diane Von Furstenberg is one of the many designers stepping their game up to tackle counterfeiters. It's not fair to her and her company because she works so hard to design and copyright her prints and styles, and for a company to just make an almost identical imitation and mass produce it so easily is disrespectful to her. I'm glad that she takes her role as president of the CFDA very seriously and wants to crack down on counterfeiters of not only her brand, but every other major player in the fashion industry.



by Victoria Gutierrez
article from WWD
http://www.wwd.com/issue/article/114361