A light hearted pun is no laughing matter for Dolce & Gabbana. The fashion house is taking a small South African jewelry boutique called Dolce and Banana to task over its parody moniker.
To be fair this case hasn’t come out of the blue. Dolce & Gabbana apparently contacted Dolce and Banana’s owner Mijou Beller six years ago asking for a name change. She obliged, sort of, and began to operate under the cheeky name … & Banana. However Beller’s website URL is still www.dolceandbanana.com, and its YouTube channel continues under the name dolceandbananashop.
It’s not clear whether this partial name change is what has Dolce & Gabbana up in arms, but it’s demanded some $13, 000 in legal fees via the Western Cape High Court. Beller says she simply can’t afford to pay the sum.
And as Beller rightly argued when first approached all those years ago, Dolce & Gabana doesn’t have a trademark on jewelry. It also doesn’t have any stores in South Africa, so it’s unlikely prospective customers would get confused.
Personally I think Dolce & Gabbana should spend its time chasing real counterfeiters rather than punning artisans. However lately it seems fashion houses are fighting harder than ever to protect their names. Whose side are you on?
[Source: StyleList]
[Image Source: And Banana Facebook]
