Vested interests: Chanel ordered to pay in copycat case

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Published time: September 22, 2012 14:40
Edited time: September 22, 2012 18:40

French luxury label Chanel has been ordered to pay one of its former knitwear suppliers $258,400 by the Paris Court of Appeal. One of the world's most revered blue-chip brands has been accused of copying.

­The recent ruling said that "a visual comparison of the original and the crocheted Chanel vest shows that the vest is a slavish copy," Agence France Press reported.

World Tricot small knitwear company first tried to sue Chanel back in 2009. However, back then the Paris commercial tribunal ruled that Chanel had not stolen the design. The French giant Chanel headed by Karl Lagerfeld denied all accusations.

However, much to everybody's surprise, the court decided to overturn the previous ruling, ordering Chanel to pay World Tricot, now bankrupt.

"This is the first time we have faced this type of situation, although we work with close to 400 suppliers. This very specific case is in no way a reflection of the quality of our relations with our suppliers," president of Chanel fashion Bruno Pavlovsky told WWD.

Chanel is set to decide whether to appeal the decision to the French Supreme Court.

It's not the first time a major label is accused of copying its competitor. Earlier this month the New York Federal Appeals Court said the designer of luxury shoes Christian Louboutin was entitled to protect his brand against red-soled shoes made by competitor Yves Saint Laurent SAS.

YSL rejected Louboutin's claims that it was trying to copy his distinctive use of color. The label described itself as "a venerated fashion house with the utmost in creative talent that has no need to trade on the goodwill of other brands."