SAN FRANCISCO – A clothes manufacturer alleges an Indiana business has copied a trademark on denim jeans.
Levi Strauss & Co. filed a complaint on Nov. 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Richard I Spiece Sales Co. Inc., doing business as Denim Express, alleging trademark infringement.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that it marks its products with a set of famous trademarks, including the "Tab" trademark in the seams of the rear pocket. It alleges that the defendant has manufactured, promoted, and sold garments that infringe and dilute its Tab trademark, thereby causing plaintiff to suffer irreparable harm.
The plaintiff holds Richard I Spiece Sales Co. Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly deprived plaintiff of its statutory rights to use and control use of its trademarks, created a likelihood of confusion and mistake among consumers as to the source of the infringing products and caused the public to falsely associate plaintiff with defendant's products.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendant, damages, lost profits, interest, constructive trust, costs and disbursements, attorneys' fees and other relief as the court deems just. It is represented by Gregory S. Gilchrist, Gia L. Cincone, Ryan Bricker and Calla E. Yee of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP in San Francisco.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Case number 3:16-cv-06344