The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled against luxury handbag maker Louis Vuitton on January 6 in a case alleging trademark and copyright infringement. The court ruled that canvas totes made by My Other Bag, Inc. (MOB) with Louis Vuitton’s logo were parodies.
MOB markets its bags as playful parodies of designer bags that are practical enough to use every day. One side of the bag in question was printed with the words “My Other Bag…” and the other had an illustration of Louis Vuitton’s logo replaced with the MOB logo. Louis Vuitton sued MOB for trademark dilution under the Lanham Act and New York law and for trademark and copyright infringement under federal law.
Louis Vuitton claimed in the lawsuit that MOB’s product mocked MOB itself or that the company poked fun at society’s fascination with status beyond luxury designer Louis Vuitton’s recognizable trademark. The court disagreed, saying that using a caricature of the LV logo on MOB’s bags was making a social commentary on Louis Vuitton’s bags. The court also wrote that without referring to a specific brand of luxury handbags, the MOB handbag would not be a successful parody because the joke would be lost.
The court said that even if the MOB handbag did not qualify as fair use under the Lanham Act, the parody would not reduce the distinctiveness of Louis Vuitton’s trademark. Even though MOB used the LV logo, it did so in a way that made it clear that it was poking fun and was not the source of Louis Vuitton products.
Louis Vuitton’s argument about trademark infringement was also rejected. The court said that it was unlikely that consumers would be confused because of Louis Vuitton’s strong mark and the humor behind the MOB totes.
The court also ruled that there was no copyright infringement because MOB made fair use of Louis Vuitton’s copyrighted design. The court applied traditional fair use factors in its assessment and concluded that MOB’s bags were a parody.
If other courts accept the same rationale, other companies could use a parody defense in trademark lawsuits. If well-known brands are told to accept parodies of their products, smaller companies could use humor involving famous brands in their products.
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