Insights on Fashion & Retail Law

A recent lawsuit filed against GNC serves as a reminder that companies need to ensure that prices listed as “regular prices” are substantiated.

Whether it is proprietary information regarding customers, pricing, sourcing, product design, or manufacturing methods, trade secrets provide a competitive edge in the market by virtue of the fact that it is not generally known.

Why does it matter? This seemingly inconsequential distinction may mean the difference between being able to prominently display your embroidered brand trademark on your jeans and being required to place a large “Made in China” marking next to the embroidered brand trademark.

J Crew Group Inc. was recently hit with a nationwide class action lawsuit alleging that the clothing retailer offers fictitious sales on the J Crew Factory store website.

The producer of popular Netflix television series “House of Cards” has been sued in federal court on claims of trademark infringement for its use of the trademark HOUSE OF CARDS.

The Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act of 2015 repealed the “consumptive demand” exemption to the ban on imports made by “forced labor.” The repeal became effective on March 10, 2016.

Social media disclosures may cause heart palpitations for advertisers and copywriters, but the Federal Trade Commission isn’t backing down.

In this episode of Fashion Counsel, Partner Anthony Lupo talks with Jessica Cardon, Senior Vice-President of Camuto Group, about balancing the various aspects of a comprehensive footwear company before a live audience at Bisnow’s 6th Annual NYC Retail Summit Event.

A case filed by Burberry Ltd. earlier this year against JC Penney Corp Inc. in the Southern District of New York for trademark infringement, and related state and federal unfair competition claims over JC Penney’s use of a checkered pattern on coats appears to have quickly been resolved.

On March 18, retailer Sears Holdings Corp. was hit with a $5.5 million lawsuit in Illinois’ Cook County Circuit Court by clothing company Sprockets Clothing Inc. (which is now known as SCI Apparel Inc.).

Costco Wholesale Corporation recently moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging that the discount retailer printed more than the last five digits of a customer’s credit card number on her receipt, in violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.

Amazon.com, Inc. recently moved for partial summary judgment in lawsuit brought by the FTC alleging the company unfairly billed users for “in-app purchases.”

This alert brings you recent developments affecting importers at US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The developments affect how importer information is filed with CBP.

As 2016 gets underway, companies should be mindful that regulators are paying close attention to automatic recurring debit transactions.

Macy’s, Inc. and subsidiary Bloomingdale’s, Inc. were recently served with a class action complaint alleging that the retail chains misled consumers with a “phantom pricing scheme” that inflated the savings available on items marked for sale.

The Federal Trade Commission amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule at the end of 2015 to ban certain forms of abusive payment methods.

Costco is defending a trademark infringement lawsuit over its sale of Anne Cole swimwear, an iconic line of women’s swimwear that has been sold in the US for over 30 years.

Twentieth Century Fox Television recently filed a motion for summary judgment in a dispute with record label Empire Distribution, Inc. over the name of Fox’s popular television series Empire.

The Federal Trade Commission has a reached a settlement agreement with several major retailers, including Nordstrom, Bed Bath & Beyond, and JCPenney, over claims that they improperly labeled and advertised rayon products as being made of bamboo.

A federal judge in the Northern District of California recently dismissed a complaint in which video game producers claimed that characters from their games had been misappropriated by competing developers, in violation of copyright law.

A judge in New Jersey federal district court recently dismissed a lawsuit brought against The Cartoon Network by a renowned video gamer.

Employers should be aware of several important changes to federal and New York wage and hour laws, effective December 31, 2015 and January 1, 2016.

The Supreme Court ruled interactive computer service providers like Yelp cannot be held legally responsible for info created and developed by third parties.

In this episode of Fashion Counsel, Partner Anthony Lupo reviews trade dress details with Intellectual Property Partner Allan E. Anderson.