Accusing Japanese apparel manufacturer FullCount Co of violating previous court orders by continuing to manufacture and sell garments that infringe Levi’s famous trademark, Levi Strauss & Co has filed a new lawsuit against the company in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The lawsuit claims, acting in ‘contempt of [the] court,’ FullCount continues to produce items that feature ‘nearly-identical copies’ of Levi’s Tab, Arcuate stitching, and ‘501’ trademarks, despite being under permanent injunctions from earlier legal actions in 2007 and 2016.
One product at the center of this dispute is FullCount’s ‘1933 501 jeans,; which prominently display the words ‘LEVI,’ ‘501,’ and ‘San Francisco,; along with a pocket flasher that closely resembles Levi’s Guarantee Ticket trademark. Levi’s alleges that these actions are part of a strategy by FullCount to ‘co-opt [its] brand and reputation,’ violating the court’s previous rulings.
This lawsuit follows a decade-long legal battle between the two companies. Despite previous injunctions barring FullCount from using Levi’s trademarks without permission, Levi’s claims that the company has continued to infringe on its marks, including by manufacturing and promoting infringing products more aggressively in recent years.
Levi’s seeks sanctions against FullCount for its ‘willful and blatant; violations of court orders. In addition to claims of contempt, Levi’s is pursuing allegations of trademark infringement, counterfeiting, and trademark dilution, arguing that FullCount’s actions demonstrate a ‘malicious intent’ to counterfeit Levi’s federally registered trademarks. The lawsuit also names U.S. retailers Franklin and Poe Trust Company LLC and Standard & Strange as defendants for selling the infringing products.
Levi’s asserts that FullCount’s misuse of its iconic Tab and ‘501’ trademarks, along with its Arcuate stitching design, is likely to cause consumer confusion and damage the distinctiveness of Levi’s brand, furthering its claims of unfair competition and trademark dilution.
