Louis Vuitton sues Portuguese liqueur maker over logo rights
Louis Vuitton sues Portuguese liqueur maker over logo rights
French luxury giant Louis Vuitton has launched an intellectual property lawsuit against a small Portuguese liqueur producer, claiming its logo is too similar to the iconic
French luxury giant Louis Vuitton has launched an intellectual property lawsuit against a small Portuguese liqueur producer, claiming its logo is too similar to the iconic LV monogram. The Portuguese liqueur producer Licores do Vale for allegedly using a logo that closely resembles its own.
The action, brought before the Intellectual Property Court, challenges the registration of the Portuguese brand by the National Institute of Industrial Property . Louis Vuitton claims that the use of an “LV” (with an inverted
V) on the labels and in brand communications is “an almost total reproduction” of its mark at “verbal, phonetic and conceptual” levels.
According to the lawsuit, quoted by Jornal de Notícias , Louis Vuitton accuses Licores do Vale of “parasitically exploiting the prestige of a third party’s brand,” and creating “unfair competition” with an “identical or similar” symbol.
The French luxury house also notes that it has registered products in the same category, reinforcing the alleged similarities. Licores do Vale responds Licores do Vale producer André Ferreira told Jornal de Notícias that he developed the logo with his girlfriend to promote the product at small agricultural fairs in the region.
“The L is for liqueurs and the V is for valley, it was turned upside down to symbolise the mountains surrounding the parish [of Longos Vales] and the little leaves represent nature,” he said…
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