nytimes.com — "United States Patent and Trademark No. 1,139,254 is not much to look at: a pentagon surrounding a childlike drawing of a seagull in flight. But the design for a Levi’s pocket, first used 133 years ago, has become the biggest legal battleground in American fashion."
Jan 29, 2007 View in Crawl 4
dennbruceJan 29, 2007
@spankee666Not sure if this is exactly the right one, but it is a pocket:<a class="user" href="http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD260320&id=KEk8AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=levi+strauss">http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD260320&id=KEk8AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=levi+strauss</a>
mecole21Jan 29, 2007
my girlfriend takes it as a compliment if im staring at her ass... its another story if its another girl's ass...
darkstar949Jan 29, 2007
This is not a patent case - this is a trademark case, and while patent will (eventually) expire, trademarks do not expire as long as the older of the trademark continues to protect them. So in the case the item in question is the decorative stitching on pockets of the Levi's that serves no purpose outside of brand recognition - as such not patentable. However, you can trademark the design, but the only way to protect the design is by suing infringer's. So in this case Levi's is doing exactly what the law requires - suing to protect the trade mark of a non-patentable item.
yeahokJan 29, 2007
I respect Levi for not trying to drive small companies into bankruptcy by litigation. All they want is to maintain their brand identity.
audioslaveryJan 30, 2007
Pshh, 7 Jeans, Diesel, and True Religion are so substantially better. The price is worth it if you buy jeans enough. They really fit 10000x better...
Closed AccountJan 30, 2007
According to the article, that design came out 133 years ago. The last time I checked, patents and copyrights don't last that long. Or has the RIAA bought over the patent office this afternoon?
mouskyJan 30, 2007
Trademarks are not meant to prevent or discourage competition. They exist to avoid confusion. Is anyone going to confuse a Levi's pocket with a private brand pocket? It's the tab that identifies Levi's jeans, not the pocket.
snapcultFeb 28, 2008
"Pshh, 7 Jeans, Diesel, and True Religion are so substantially better."-Not true, almost all of those jeans are not even selvage denim and for that price point in Levis you can buy a pair of the LVC 1947 replicas which are the most copied cut of all time... Also the True Religion cut is a copy of a Levis Type 1 which also resulted in a law suit in which Levis sold True Religion the rights to use the design. Don't try to compare a $300 designer jean to a Levis core $56 501, it's just not fair.