California Apparel News

Two months ago, Christian Audigier was walking the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios, where he showed both his eponymous collection and his licensed Ed Hardy line of embellished streetwear.

Now, Audigier has been named in a lawsuit filed by the owners of the artwork that is prominently displayed on Ed Hardy apparel, accessories and other products.

In September 2005, Audigier signed a 10-year license agreement with Hardy Life, the Los Angeles–based owner of the artwork and intellectual-property rights to Don Ed Hardy and Ed Hardy. Hardy, the tattoo artist who gives the brand its name, is a principal of Hardy Life. Audigier has been producing Ed Hardy Tattoo Wear since 2004, and sales for the brand topped $25 million in 2006.

According to a suit filed May 10 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Audigier and his company, Nervous Tattoo Inc., have breached their licensing agreement with Hardy Life. Hardy Life is demanding the immediate rescission of the agreement.

Hardy Life’s attorney, Arthur Jarvis Cohen of Cohen, Eagan, Leonard & Parker LLP in Fullerton, Calif., said the most significant breach involves Audigier contracting work to sublicensees in which he holds an interest. “That makes for a conflict in interest,” Cohen said, and it is specifically prohibited by the licensing agreement. Hardy Life is also asking the court to require Audigier and Nervous Tattoo to provide them with complete books and records as required by the license agreement. According to Cohen, Hardy Life has been unable to complete an audit of the business and believes that Audigier and Nervous Tattoo are attempting to underreport sales and income and failing to pay Hardy Life all the royalties it is due.

In the suit, Hardy Life also accuses Audigier of withholding several Ed Hardy copyright certificates from Hardy Life, producing Ed Hardy–branded products specifically excluded from the licensing agreement and failing to submit artwork, advertisements and promotional materials to Hardy Life for approval.

Executives at Nervous Tattoo dismissed the charges and said they were planning their own lawsuit against Hardy Life.

“The Hardy Life lawsuit is completely without merit. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves and assert our claims,” said Henry R. Mandell, Nervous Tattoo Inc.’s president and chief operating officer. According to Mandell, Hardy Life has itself breached the licensing contract. “The lawsuit is simply a preemptive maneuver. We will be filing our own claim very shortly,” he said.

Audigier operates four Ed Hardy flagship stores and sells the brand at hundreds of retailers in the United States and through 20 licensed retailers in countries including Turkey, Iran, India, Canada, Israel, France, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. Plans call for four more Ed Hardy stores to open stateside this year.

This isn’t the first time Audigier has found himself in the midst of a lawsuit with business partners. In 2005, Von Dutch Originals, another Los Angeles–based, tattoo-inspired company, sued Audigier for fraud after he resigned his post as vice president and head designer. That case, as well as the counter-suit he filed against Von Dutch, is still pending.

—Erin Barajas