Given that a Louis Vuitton handbag can cost upwards of $4,000, it should come as no surprise that street vendors will gladly risk arrest to sell counterfeits for a fraction of the price.
Unfortunately, a fried chicken purveyor in South Korea is about to face the full weight of the fashion industry for using the Louis Vuitton name without the express written permission of the copyright holder. According to the South China Morning Post, the fashion giant is bringing the full weight of its legal team to bear in suing "Louis Vuiton Dak," a restaurant that clearly infringes on the company trademark, while incorporating a play on a word that translates to "whole chicken."
— Koogle.TV (@KoogleTV) April 19, 2016
But Louis Vuitton may have taken the greatest offense to the design of the little restaurant’s takeout box, which looks similar to the fashion giant’s iconic handbags, except that the food containers are made out of cardboard and covered in chicken grease.
Louis Vuitton sent the restaurant a cease-and-desist letter, claiming that the name of the restaurant damaged its brand. A district court in Seoul agreed.
In response, the owner, identified only as Kim, tinkered with the name of his restaurant. "Louis Vuitton Dak" became "chaLouisvuitondak," a move that, unsurprisingly, did little to assuage the fashion company.
This week, a judge ordered the restaurant owner to pay some $12,500 in damages for refusing to comply with court orders.
"Although he changed the name with different spacing, the two names sounded almost the same," the judge said, according to the Korea Times.
A number of small businesses have been targeted by large companies over the years. Rolex sued The Rolex Deli in Brooklyn in 2011 and the jeweler Faberge went after a New York eatery called the Faberge Restaurant and Lounge. Both suits were settled out of court.
