In Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Dooney & Bourke, Inc. (S.D.N.Y., Aug. 27, 2004), Louis Vuitton, which produces expensive handbags with a distinctive LV logo, brought a suit against Dooney & Bourke which produces expensive handbags with a DB logo under the Lanham Act (for trademark infringement and dilution) as well as NY state trademark infringement and unfair compeition law.
The court denied Louis Vuitton's requeset for a preliminary injunction, finding that federal and NY state trademark law offer no protection for the style of a bag:
Distilling the voluminous submissions to their essence, it is quite clear that Louis Vuitton cannot prevail on its plea for injunctive relief. To hold otherwise would not only contravene settled law, it would grant Louis Vuitton monopoly rights over a “look” – a multicolored monogram against a white or black background. In connection with this motion, the parties have collectively submitted close to 20,000 pages of material. But no amount of expert opinion, legal analysis, or demonstrative evidence can overcome the clarity that comes from direct observation.
Reuters reports: Vuitton Loses Dooney-Bourke Trademark Bid
Blog feed