Some of the disputed items in the lawsuit-the top row is Forever 21, the bottom row is Trovata
The closing arguments were made late last week to the federal jury involved in the suit between uber-cheap retailer Forever 21 and California-based clothing line Trovata. The District Court case has been unfolding since early May and is based on Forever 21's distribution of pieces that are strikingly similar to the smaller clothing line's designs. The closing statements were said to be as impassioned and vehement in tonality as the rest of the case has been, with Trovata's lawyer Frank Colucci saying, "This is a lot more than about buttons and threads." He accused the retail chain of facilitating "A chilling lack of remorse by a company that thinks it's too big and too busy to play fair and decent." In response, Forever 21's head lawyer Bruce Brunda defended his client by insisting the chain had made "substantive changes" to the designs that were sold en masse, then added, "Where is that wrong?" Forever 21's line of defense claims that though the garments may have appeared similar to Trovata's pieces, they were not unique specifically to Trovata and therefore no laws were broken.
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This case has already covered a lot of legal retail ground that has been seemingly murky in the past. As a result, the outcome could help clarify intellectual property rights which might help designers whose collections have appeared as knockoffs in chain stores before being available in their own studios. Forever 21 has already been sued in the past by Diane Von Furstenburg, Anna Sui, Anthropologie, and Bebe for similar offenses of infringement. Although the Trovata suit did not allege violations of copyrighting like most of the other cases brought against the chain store in the past, the clothing line is seeking significant reparations. The jury of the case started deliberations last Friday. We will provide updates on the case as they continue to unfold.
Article Source: WWD
Photo Source: nitrolicious.com
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