Sept 2009: The Boston Herald revealed that New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. is accusing Louis Vuitton of copying the design of the best-selling 574 sneaker.

  New balance sued Vuitton

According to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Boston, New Balance alleges that the luxury goods company Louis Vuitton deliberately copied the famous 574 launched in the mid-nineties by the Boston- based firm. Many websites, including the sneaker specialized website nicekicks.com, identified the 2009 winter collection Minstrel of Louis Vuitton as a copy, in shape and color, of the New Balance 574.

 
New Balance explained that it had worked with artists and designers on special editions of the 574. Given that, ordinary consumers are likely to erroneously believe New Balance has an affiliation with Louis Vuitton’s Minstrel shoe, the company asserts.

Paris-based Louis Vuitton is selling the Minstrel for $590. It mimics the 574’s shape and construction, the lawsuit alleges, and the suede version comes in grey, the top-selling color for the 574, which sells for $75. The logo “LV” is located at the same place as the “N” on the New Balance sneakers.

  New balance sued Vuitton

New Balance is seeking an injunction against further sales of the model, a court-ordered recall, any profits LVMH made from products found to be infringing and unspecified damages.


Yvon Le Gall
Luxury-world

www.newbalance.com

www.nicekicks.com

www.bostonherald.com

New balance sued Vuitton