Nirvana given permission to proceed with lawsuit against Marc Jacobs

Nirvana has accused the fashion house Marc Jacobs of copyright and trade mark infringement. Nirvana claims that Marc Jacobs is benefiting off their iconic yellow happy face logo. Nirvana alleges that the fashion line has ‘ripped off’ their logo by using the letters ‘M’ and ‘J’  for eyes instead of the usual X’s and replacing the word ‘Nirvana’ with ‘Heaven’.

The lawsuit highlights important issues in relation to trade marks and passing off. In the UK, trade mark law is predominantly governed by the Trade Marks Act 1994 and EU law. An individual who uses a logo or mark acquires ‘goodwill’ in relation to that logo or mark. Goodwill is the quality or reputation which causes a consumer to use one particular good or service rather than any other. The owner of a trade mark can take legal action against another trader who uses that mark in a way which misleads the customer or the public into believing that his goods or services are those of the owner of the mark. This action is defined as ‘passing off’. In relation to the case at hand, Nirvana claim that Marc Jacobs mislead the public into falsely believing that Nirvana endorses the collection and thus are benefiting off their reputation and fame by creating a lookalike t-shirt. Copyright infringement in the UK is largely governed by the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. In relation to copying work, the key test is whether a substantial part of the work concerned has been copied as stated in section 16(3) of the Act and in determining substantiality the test is qualitative not quantitative. The courts will look at the quality of the parts taken, not necessarily the amount.

It is important to protect your business and to prevent others from benefiting off your reputation. If you require legal assistance regarding trade marks, passing off or copyright infringement then please do not hesitate to contact Christopher Buck, Associate Partner in our Business Services Department who will be happy to assist christopher.buck@franklins-sols.co.uk or cal 01908 660966 / 01604 828282.