Levi Strauss Claims that Legions of Competitors Have Stolen Its Signature Denim Stitches

By MICHAEL BARBARO and JULIE CRESWELL
Published: January 29, 2007
“United States Patent and Trademark No. 1,139,254 is not much to look at: a pentagon surrounding a childlike drawing of a seagull in flight. But the design for a Levi’s pocket, first used 133 years ago, has become the biggest legal battleground in American fashion. Levi Strauss claims that legions of competitors have stolen its signature denim stitches, two intersecting arcs and a cloth label.” Levi’s has filed over 100 lawsuits since 2001. “That’s far more than General Motors, Walt Disney or Nike, according to an analysis by research firm Thomson West. The lawsuits, which Levi’s says it is compelled to file to safeguard the defining features on its jeans, are not about the money — one settled for just $5,000 in damages. Instead, the company says, they are about removing copycats from stores. Nearly all the cases have settled out of court, with Levi’s smaller rivals agreeing to stop making the offending pants and to destroy unsold pairs."
Levi Strauss has filed numerous lawsuits against a bunch of companies in an attempt to protect its signature back pocket denim stitches. Guess, Von Dutch, Jones Apparel, Diesel, and Evisu are only a few of the companies targeted out of the one hundred lawsuits that Levi’s has filed since 2001. Many companies are upset because they feel their logos and jeans are unique and different from Levi’s signature stitches and the only reason Levi’s has targeted them is due to the huge losses and financial problems with the Levi Company. I feel this will create a bad image for Levi’s jeans because they have even filed lawsuits against companies whose logos are obviously similar but unique, like the Evisu logo. I think this will lead consumers to believe that Levi’s is not a strong company that can compete with other jean companies, due to their failure to capitalize and adapt to the popular fashion trends of jeans over the last several years. These lawsuits have made Levi’s the victim of numerous jokes on news shows, such as the Colbert Report.

By ERIC NUSBAUM
Article#2- 1/31/07