Countersuit Filed Over Seven7 Trademark

Friday, December 13, 2002

Los Angeles-based Seven Licensing Company filed a countersuit against L’Koral Inc., manufacturer of the Seven for All Mankind denim label, citing that the company deliberately infringed on the licensing company’s Seven7 trademark.

Last September, L’Koral owners Michael Glasser and Peter Koral sought a declaration from Los Angeles Federal Court to protect the Seven for All Mankind trademark. Both Glass and Koral declined to comment on the countersuit.

Seven Licensing Company owner Gerard Guez, who has served as chairman of the Los Angeles-based publicly owned private-label denim manufacturer Tarrant Apparel Group since 1985, obtained the licensing rights to produce denim under the Seven7 label in the United States shortly after he formed the licensing company.

“We have been amazed by the level of interest we have received from potential licensees and distributors, including large national retailers and distributors seeking to carry the Seven7 label,” said Maurice Ohayon, who founded the Italian-made denim company in the late ’70s and continues to hold the rights to produce the denim line in Europe.

Until recently, the upscale denim collection, which retails for about $300 a pair, has been available in the U.S. only through exclusive boutiques. The company’s plan is to strengthen its retail relationships to expand the line, while maintaining the label’s aura of exclusivity, said Guez, who obtained exclusive rights to produce the line in the U.S. last June.