Levi's Suing Dolce & Gabbana For Copying Pocket Stitching

Copy this at your own risk.

​Levi's is suing another fashion label for trademark infringement alleging it copied the Levi's double- arch stitching design and ribbon tab on the back pocket.

The San Francisco-based jeans company filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco Wednesday against Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana, saying they've breached a 1998 settlement agreement between the two companies over similar allegations.

Levis has also filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office asking it to cancel D&G's patent of the pocket stitching.

 

Levis had first confronted D&G about using the tab on their back pocket seam (a la Levi's red tab) in 1997. At that time, the two companies entered into a settlement agreement, with D&G agreeing to no longer make jeans that had the tab.

But Levis says D&G has started selling spring/summer 2011 jeans with the pocket tabs as well as pocket stitching similar to Levi's. Levi's claims to have sold the jeans with the tab and stitching pocket combination since 1936.

D&G is not the first company that has faced legal action from Levi's for copying its tab and  stitching. According to a 2007 New York Times story, Levi's had filed nearly 100 lawsuits against jeans manufacturers since 2001:

The company's team of denim detectives -- there are 40 across the world, scouring boutiques and department stores -- has spotted what they considered offending stitches on jeans from the biggest names in the clothing business: Guess, Zegna, Esprit, Lucky Brand and Zumiez, to name a few.

Talk about distressed jeans.

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