Coach Sues Target for Copyright Infringement | Retail Chain Sells “Confusingly Similar” Purses

Posted on: Oct 6

Luxury handbag label Coach has filed a lawsuit against Target, alleging that the retail giant has infringed upon its intellectual copyright.

In a lawsuit lodged at the United States District Court in Manhattan last Thursday, Coach claims Target is selling handbags "confusingly similar" to its Ergo and Signature Patchwork collections.

"Target is not authorized by Coach to manufacture, distribute, advertise, offer for sale and/or sell merchandise bearing the Ergo designs or the Signature Patchwork designs," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit includes claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Target is pleading ignorance on this one, with a spokeswoman claiming "We are currently looking into this situation and working with our vendor partner.

"It always has been - and continues to be - Target's policy to respect the intellectual property rights of others."

It'll be interesting to see how this case goes. We've seen the luxury labels take down many small brands creating obvious counterfeits, but a firm with the might of Target may be another story.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]
[Image Source: Shoshanah/Wikipedia Commons]