Clothing Designer Christian Audigier Files Counterclaims In Bryan Callan’s Unfair Competition And Breach Of Licensing Agreement Lawsuit

Los Angeles, CA – Clothing designer Christian Audigier was sued by Bryan Callan for unfair competition under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) and breach of their licensing agreement (details blogged here). Audigier answered the complaint and counterclaimed (copy available here) alleging he entered into an agreement to purchase Callan’s original artworks and copyright thereto for use on Audigier’s eponymous product line. Audigier alleges that Callan breached the agreement by failing to provide a minimum of ten original pieces of artwork each and every month. In addition, Audigier claims that despite the transfer of ownership of the copyrights to Audigier, Callan requested that Audigier loan him some of the artwork to show in Callan’s gallery. By failing to return the artwork, it’s alleged that Callan intended to convert the artwork to his own possession and use under the guise of “borrowing” the same. Audigier seeks a declaration of copyright ownership because Callan allegedly applied for federal copyright registration wherein Callan falsely represented that he is the owner copyrights despite assigning the rights to Audigier. The case is Bryan Callan v. Christian Audigier, Inc. et al., CV 08-08072 GW (C.D. Cal. 2008).