The Risk Associated with Cease and Desist Letters

In an ongoing trademark dispute between Forever 21 and Gucci, Forever 21, Inc. v. Gucci America, Inc., et al., 2:17-cv-04706 (C.D. Cal.), Gucci recently got the upper hand, slightly: the court granted Gucci’s partial motion to dismiss–but permitted Forever 21 to amend its complaint.

This dispute began nearly a year ago, in December 2016, when Gucci sent Forever 21 a cease and desist letter demanding that Forever 21 cease all sales of garments and accessories bearing the stripe combination blue-red-blue. Gucci owns a federal trademark registration for that stripe combination.


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