The North Face Gets Sued For Featuring Work Alike Artist Futura’s In Outerwear
Image via Cineberg / Shutterstock.com
Graffiti artist Futura has filed a lawsuit against The North Face for copyright infringement.
According to documents obtained by Highsnobiety, Futura accused The North Face of using a logo that resembles his stylized atom design, which has appeared throughout his artwork. The lawsuit suggests that the atom symbol’s lookalike was used in The North Face’s 2019 FUTURELIGHT line. The design, as well as the name of the collection, also suggested that there was a link to the artist and his brand.
On top of the similar graphic logo, The North Face also named its collection FUTURELIGHT, which according to the lawsuit isn’t a “coincidence.” The similarity in symbols and names has “suggested an association” with Futura.
Although The North Face collaborated with Futura in the past, it did not obtain “authorization from Futura, or even inform Futura, before making extensive use of the infringing logo in a $20 million advertising campaign,” the lawsuit explained.
The suit also claimed that the FUTURELIGHT trademark “has injured and will continue to injure [Futura].” The collection has apparently caused customers to be “confused or mistaken into believing that [The North Face]’s goods were designed by, or otherwise affiliated with [Futura].”
Futura’s suit called for unspecified damages and for The North Face to immediately pull its FUTURELIGHT products off shelves. Futura’s legal representative Jeff Gluck told Highsnobiety that “this is probably the most uncool thing” that The North Face has ever done, coming from a brand that prides itself “about being cool.”
“We gave them every opportunity to try and resolve these claims, but they had no interest,” Gluck added.
The North Face FUTURELIGHT - Made to Defy https://t.co/O8UQzBOAco pic.twitter.com/AAifAvXOxT
— Campamentosnomadas (@Campamentosnom1) October 1, 2019
[via Highsnobiety, cover image via Cineberg / Shutterstock.com]
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