LOS ANGELES – Puma claims some of the designs of its line of Fenty shoes designed by musical artist Rihanna were unlawfully copied by a Los Angeles-based retailer.
Puma SE filed a complaint on March 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Forever 21 Inc. alleging patent infringement and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that it suffered damages to its business from having its footwear design copied. The plaintiff holds Forever 21 Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly could cause confusion among consumers from selling products that are similar to the plaintiff's Creeper, Fur Slide and Bow Slide shoes.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks enjoin the defendant from further infringing plaintiff's designs, pay profits to the plaintiff, statutory damages, actual damages, treble damages restitution, all legal fees, interest and any other relief as the court deems just. It is represented by Tamany Vinson Bentz and Matthew J. Busch of Venable LLP in Los Angeles, and by Justin E. Pierce and Kimberly Culp Cloyd of the same firm in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, respectively.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Case number 2:17-cv-02523