Textile Company Sues Forever 21 Over Pattern Design
A Los Angeles textile company has sued fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 Inc. for allegedly copying a fabric design.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, M.M.P. Inc., doing business as Fabrics & Fabrics, accused Forever 21 of stealing “Building Blocks,” a copyrighted fabric design the company owns in the United States.
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 30, maintains the fabric was knocked off by Forever 21 to make dresses and women’s tops sold in its stores throughout the country.
In legal papers, M.M.P. said the fabric was printed by Los Angeles–based Unicolors and then manufactured by London Eyes.
“Beautiful fabric designs don’t just create themselves. We work hard to provide our customers with exclusive prints, and we aren’t going to let Forever 21 fleece us or our customers,” said M.M.P. President Morris Peykar in a statement.
Attorney Megan Gray, who represents Peykar and his fabric company, said the incident started when one of M.M.P.’s customers saw the alleged knockoff fabric last October at a Forever 21 store in Sherman Oaks, Calif. “Immediately, the customer cut all ties to M.M.P. because they had purchased a bunch of this fabric and had placed orders for additional fabric. They said they didn’t want the fabric anymore because Forever 21 had it,” Gray said. “The customer canceled all orders for outstanding fabric and asked for a refund on the fabric already purchased.”
M.M.P. reimbursed its customer, Gray said, and then filed a lawsuit against Forever 21.
Calls to Forever 21 went unanswered.
Forever 21, a chain of 400 stores that caters to young customers looking for high fashion at low prices, has been the subject of dozens of copyright and trademark lawsuits in the last five years.
In November, Los Angeles jewelry company Christie Martin Designs Inc. sued Forever 21 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Designer Christie Martin said the $1.1 billion retailer was selling copies of her Old English line of jewelry for $3.80 to $6.80, while her necklaces retail for more than $130. Martin said the product was not only a copy of her line, but it had also copied her trademark and logo on the back of the jewelry.
Other lawsuits have been filed by Bebe Stores Inc., Anthropologie, Levi Strauss & Co., L.A. Printex Industries Inc. and Textile Secrets International. —Deborah Belgum
