What’s in a name? Plenty if you’re fashion designer Angelica Cota. The founder of LuLA handbags is suing L’Wren Scott, who recently released an accessories line called Lula.
The capitalization may be different but Cota says the similarities between the names will cause confusion. The lawsuit claims that Scott’s use of the name “will irreparably harm and will undo all of Cota’s hard work in establishing her own identity under the LuLA trademark.“
It’s unclear why Cota settled on LuLA for her handbag collection, but the point is that she did, and first. Scott’s story about naming her own accessories line after her mother is touching, but that doesn’t mean Cota’s toes are feeling any less bruised. I’m sure the courts won’t be any more sympathetic for the familial connection either.
I suppose die hard fans will know that L’Wren Scott’s Lula bags are available exclusively through Barney’s New York while Angelica Cota’s LuLA purses are stocked at Nordstrom and other high-end retailers. But I probably couldn’t keep the two lines straight, and I have a real passion for fashion. So what hope does the general public have?
Often these lawsuits seem like nitpicking, but I think L’Wren Scott has a real case to answer here; don’t you?
