G Whiz: Gucci Sues Guess?

Letter logo legal battle alert! The latest lawsuit? Gucci, the garish crown jewel in PPR’s vast retail empire, is suing Guess? No really, try and guess. That’s right, in a case that has the potential for some good old-fashioned “Who’s on first?“-style laughs, the defendant is Guess?, Inc., the designer denim pioneer turned lifestyle brand that we stopped paying much attention to when it signed up Paris Hilton as the face of its Marciano line.

In a complaint filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court, Gucci accused Guess? of knocking off Gucci-trademarked designs—including a green and red stripe, a repeated interlocking GG mark, and a stylized G mark (like those pictured on the fetching Guess? belts above)—in an effort to “Gucci-ize” its product line. Also, it’s a conspiracy! According to PPR, the Guess? products are “part of a sophisticated and elaborate scheme to target Gucci, to create products that are similar in appearance to the most popular and best-known Gucci products.” In addition to unspecified money damages, Gucci is seeking a court order that bars Guess? from using the disputed designs and wants Guess? to destroy all existing items that bear the allegedly infringing marks. Guess?, which reported net revenue of $2.09 billion for the fiscal year that ended January 31, has yet to comment publicly on the suit.

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