Judge Sides With Bucklesource in Trade Dress Infringement Suit
Two Southern California fashion accessory companies won a court victory over City of Industry, Calif.-based Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc. when a Los Angeles Federal Court judge ruled that certain belt designs the companies produced did not violate trade dress and copyright laws.
Leegin, which markets the Brighton line of fashion accessories, sued Placentia, Calif.-based belt buckle supplier Bucklesource Inc. and Vernon, Calif.-based Belts by Nadim, claiming the companies’ Victorian-inspired motifs infringed upon certain styles within the Brighton line.
But Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. ruled that the generic nature of Victorian designs does not entitle Leegin to legal protection against their use by competitors in a similar fashion. Attorneys for Bucklesource said in a statement that the ruling is significant because “it prevents monopoly over common designs that would otherwise chill competition in the fashion accessory business.”
The ruling allows the companies to re-enter the leather goods market and sell their products.
Bucklesource supplies belt manufacturers with buckles and other hardware. The litigation also affects clients Zippi Leather of Houston and Stein Mart stores.
Bucklesource president Richard Siegler said the court ruling was a victory for smaller companies in the fashion supply chain.
“We are small fish in the big sea of fashion accessories and feel that Leegin is trying to drown us out as competitors simply because we exist, not because we did something wrong. Everyone has a right to do business, and we will continue to defend this lawsuit, not just for ourselves but on behalf of our peers everywhere,” he said.
Attorneys from Leegin could not be reached at press time. —Robert McAllister
