Blue Marlin Corp. Trademark Infringement Case Settled
Blue Marlin Corp. announced the settlement of its trademark infringement case against Donna Karan International on Jan. 30. The case was filed in Federal District Court of San Francisco in June 2005. Several of the company’s vendors found DKI sweat pants, sweat jackets and hoodies with a logo bearing five stars, which was argued to be similar to Blue Marlin’s five-star logo, according to Erik Stuebe, chief executive of the San Francisco–based Blue Marlin.
The New York–based DKI agreed not to use a five-star logo as part of the settlement of the case. A spokeswoman from DKI declined to comment. Stuebe also declined to disclose other terms of the settlement.
The Karan case marked a fourth settlement in trademark infringement cases filed by Blue Marlin in the past two years, Stuebe said. The company also reached amicable settlements with manufacturers VF Corp., based in Greensboro, N.C., Diesel SPa and hip-hop clothing outfit Sedgwick & Cedar, the Blue Marlin chief said. Blue Marlin is in litigation in “less than five” other trademark infringement cases, Stuebe said.
“We have to be vigilant to protect the integrity of the mark,” he said.
Stuebe founded Blue Marlin in 1995 as a manufacturer producing T-shirts and track jackets with a vintage sport theme. In 2005, the company split its designing efforts into two lines. Blue Marlin Originals features track jackets, T-shirts and denim. The line is sold in Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. Price points range from $129 for denim to $30–$50 for T-shirts. Five Star Vintage is sold at retailers such as Macy’s. Wholesale price points for T-shirts range from $24 to $35. —Andrew Asch
