A New York judge dismissed Louis Vuittons case against Warner Bros, the studio behind the buddy film, on the basis of the appearance of counterfeit Vuitton luggage in one scene.
When the luxury group filed the suit in January, representatives said producers knowingly used counterfeit bags in an airport scene. As a result, Vuitton sought all profits from the film, which racked up $580m in box office receipts, and demanded that Warner Bros destroy all copies of the film.
Judge Andrew Carter apparently found the claims excessive. He dismissed the lawsuit, calling Vuittons allegations not plausible or particularly compelling and taking particular issue with the claim that the fake bagsthe inauthenticity of which is a key element in the scenecould cause consumer confusion.
Elsewhere in New York, the judge in Guccis multi-year lawsuit against Guess reduced the damages that a major Guess licensee owed to the Italian luxury fashion group. Marc Fisher, a Guess footwear licensee, now owes nearly $1.5m less to Gucci than originally ruled. Total damages were reduced from $4.7m to $4.61m due to post-trial adjustments
Hermes, meanwhile, has had more luck than its luxury peers. The Birkin maker said on Monday that it had dismantled the international crime ring behind counterfeit versions of several of its bags.