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Louis Vuiton Case Study

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Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Haute Diggity Dog, LLC; Victoria D.N. Dauernheim; Woofies, LLC, d/b/a Woofie’s Pet Boutique, Defendant-Appellees. International Trademark Association, Amicus Supporting Appellant (2007)
No. 06-2267

NATURE OF THE CASE
Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A., a luxury brand manufacturer of handbags, luggage, etc. filed suit against Haute Diggity Dog, LLC, a manufacturer of pet products, for allegedly infringing on its trademark. Louis Vuitton claims Haute Diggity Dog’s imitation of its luxury products include the designs of handbags, which Haute Diggity Dog labels “Chewy Vuiton”. The District Court concluded the toys were successful parodies of the luxury manufacturer LVM, and ruled in favor of Haute Diggity Dog affirming the products would not likely be confused for LVM, hence there was no infringement on the copyright.
FACTS
Louis Vuitton Malletier created a version of the Monogram Canvas mark that was distinctly colored and included the LVM logo. For this, LVM secured a copyright in 2002 and created another design including a canvas of repetitions of the LV markings with smiling cherries on a brown background. Louis …show more content…

See Hormel Foods, 73 F.3d at 507. IV. The judged concurred that as the markings were similar in some aspects, a parody consists of equal dissimilarities, which Haute Diggity Dog did successfully. I agree with this ruling as Louis Vuitton’s intellectual property was not stolen and it did not prove there would likely be confusion by a consumer due to branding or other visual similarities (Copyright Law, n.d.). The burden of proof for LVM was to proof copyright infringement in the use of their valid and protectable mark. 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)(a). This was not proven, and therefore, ruling was found in favor of Hot Diggity

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