You Be the Judge! Page 145

131

ASE: 17

ISSUE BEFORE THE COURT

Whether Dooney & Bourke's use of the "It Bag" is likely to cause consumer
confusion with the Louis Vuitton multi-colored toile handbag so that
customers will purchase the much lower priced Dooney & Bourke
handbag instead of the very expensive Louis Vuitton handbag.

THE FACTS

You Be the Judge!

The Plaintiff in a

trademark case has the

burden of proving that

the Defendants use of

a mark has created the

likelihood of confusion.

Louis Vuitton, a French design rm, began selling trunks and

accessories in the United States in 1893. In 1896, the company created
the "toile monogram," featuring entwined LV initials with three mo-
tifs: a curved diamond with a four-point star inset, its negative, and a
circle with a four-leafed ower inset. Vuitton registered these trade-
marks with the United States Patent and Trademark O ce. Having
been used exclusively and continuously since 1896, these trademarks
are now solely owned by Louis Vuitton.

In October 2002, Louis Vuitton launched a series of handbags

featuring "new signature toile designs" created by fashion designer
Marc Jacobs and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. e new bags
(Murakami handbags) updated the fashion house's famous toile
marks. e fresh design--coined the Louis Vuitton monogram multi-
color pattern (multicolor mark)--was a modi ed version of the "toile
marks" printed in 33 bright colors (Murakami colors) on a white or
black background.

In 2003-2004, Louis Vuitton spent over $4 million in advertising

and promoting the multicolor mark and associated handbags. In ad-
dition, the new design garnered signi cant media attention. CBS's e
Early Show and publications ranging from USA Today and e New
York Times to People, Women's Wear Daily, Marie Claire, and Vogue
all featured the Murakami handbags. Many celebrities, including Jen-
nifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon, and Madonna, were photographed
with the bags in tow.

As of late 2006, Louis Vitton had sold nearly 186,600 products

and accessories with the multicolor mark design in the United States
priced at $150 to more than $4,000 each, amounting to over $186 mil-
lion in sales.

For Evaluation Purposes Only