California Apparel News

After filing and winning several lawsuits over a laser technology used to distress blue jeans, RevoLaze recently dropped its legal action against fast-fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz.

RevoLaze, a technology company headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, filed more than 20 lawsuits in the United States against denim manufacturers it complained were not paying for a patented technique that RevoLaze said it developed.

Most of the lawsuits have been settled with manufacturers, including Levi Strauss & Co. andLucky Brand Jeans, which signed nonexclusive royalty-bearing licenses to use RevoLaze’s patented laser-abrasion technology.

The cases were filed both with the International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. District Court in Cleveland and included The Gap, 7 For All Mankind, Koos Manufacturing, Guess, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Eddie Bauer, The Buckle, Roberto Cavalli and Buffalo David Bitton.

Los Angeles attorney Staci Riordan of Nixon Peabody represented H&M in the case. She said H&M asked for a summary determination to be made by the International Trade Commission. “This is the first time they have withdrawn a case or ended it without a settlement agreement,” Riordan said. “We are disappointed that RevoLaze is choosing to withdraw instead of going forward.”

H&M, Riordan said, felt it would have prevailed on its claim that their products did not infringe on RevoLaze’s technology. “We believe RevoLaze is afraid its patents will not withstand court scrutiny, so it is withdrawing before the judge can rule,” Riordan said. “They continue to strong arm settlements from anyone who sells denim with some type of worn look.”

C. Graham Gerst, a Chicago attorney representing RevoLaze, said the company is bound by a protective order that does not allow it to talk about the details surrounding the lawsuit’s withdrawal.