Purse & Handbag Designs Subject of Trade Dress Infringement Lawsuit

Los Angeles, CA – Purse and handbag designer Linea Pelle, Inc. filed a trade dress infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Sabina Handbags & Accessories, Inc. In 2006, Plaintiff alleges that it created the “Dylan Collection” of handbags that “incorporates certain unique and distinctive designs, ornamentation and embellishments that, as a whole, have become the iconic and signature look of the Dylan Collection,” which it defines as follows:

Sound like a square peg in a round hole? Assuming Plaintiff can establish secondary meaning before the infringement began, the definition sounds like a constrained extension of trade dress law. Why not seek design patent protection and avoid the challenges of establishing trade dress rights? But I digress. Plaintiff’s purse incorporating the alleged trade dress is pictured below.

Defendant’s accused product is pictured below.

The case is Linea Pelle, Inc. v. Sabina Handbags & Accessories, Inc., CV 09-8450 JSL (C.D. Cal. 2009).