Louis Vuitton: The Road to Darfur Paved With Lawsuits (UPDATE #2)
Update 2: We just noticed this notice on Plasner’s website: “I have agreed with LV’s lawyers to stop commenting on the case and to cease the sales of Simple Living products while we are working towards a solution.” Must of been some meeting on May 31st!
Update 1: Donn Zaretsky notes the ongoing legal battle between artist/philanthropist/infringer and fashion megapower Louis Vuitton. He links to a recent New York Magazine interview with Plasner and to a few folks who support her. Word is Plasner will meet with LV soon to discuss this mess. Fashion shoot?
From March 28, 2008
Louis Vuitton, designers and makers of some fine fashion wear and accessories (including some very nice scarves), hit Nadia Plasner, owner of Nadia Plasner Art & Design, with a lawsuit a couple of weeks back. It seems Nadia took it upon herself to appropriate Louis Vuitton’s logo design and, with a bit of photoshopping, inserted a purse with a similar LV logo design on t-shirts and posters on a young boy’s forearm (presumably from Darfur) and made them available for sale (€35 and €15 respectively).
Describing her tactics as “artistic freedom,” Nadia claims a philanthropic drive underlines her impulse. According to philanthropic Nadia, 30% (That’s quite a bit of profit) of each t-shirt and poster sold goes to “fund the Divest for Darfur campaign and other crucial awareness and advocacy programs that play a critical role in building the political and economic pressure needed to end the crisis in Darfur.” As soon as LV got a whiff of this they sent Nadia the complimentary cease and desist letter, to which Nadia replied
with a basic “fuck you” (and a good example as to why non-lawyers should not respond to legal threats). Nadia has lawyers now, but our take is that if this intellectual property suit is brought in the U.S. Nadia had better start divesting herself of all her personal assets (perhaps to the kids in Darfur). The likelihood of confusion, dilution and derivative claims under trademark and copyright law seem quite strong. Oh Nadia, what is that saying: “the road to hell…” By the way, how much is the Chihuahua?