Gucci and Guess in $124m trademark battle

Italian fashion house Gucci has filed a trademark infringement case against Guess in America. The company is seeking $124 million in damages.Gucci claims Guess used a similar logo of its trademarked interlocking G's to sell

 its products. The case, which has been filed in a New York court, sees Gucci claiming $221 million worth of Guess products infringed Gucci designs.

Three years ago Gucci called the use of Guess' interlocking logo "studied imitations" of the famous Gucci designs. Guess responded Gucci cannot claim infringement because it “sat on its rights” for at least seven years prior to filing a case. Guess further stated Gucci’s surveys failed to prove that consumers would be misled by the designs.

Daniel Petrocelli, a lawyer for Guess Inc, stated in court that of 1,495 Guess products Gucci claimed were infringing, 99 percent “could never be confused with Gucci.” He added many Guess products sell for less than $100 and are aimed at young women who do not have a budget forl uxury goods like Gucci’s, which can sell for thousands of dollars.

According to Bloomberg Gucci's parent company PPR's shares fell 2 percent to 130.5 euros in Paris Stock Market trading. Guess dropped 1.4 percent to $31.36.

Image: Guess and Gucci logos