Topshop and Chloe in copyright dispute

774 of the designs in question had already been sold before Topshop were forced to remove the remaining stock and post an 'out of stock' message on its shopping site.

Rachael Parman, a solicitor at Chloe's law firm Shoosmiths, told one British newspaper today, that as part of the settlement, Topshop “did acknowledge that their use of the Chloe design constituted an infringement of design rights”. However in another publication Topshop owner Philip Green said that no formal admission had been made and that Topshop " paid them £12,000 without any admission over whether it was or it wasn't a copy".

The £12,000 compensation sum involved - small change to both billionaire Green and design brand Chloe - seems irrelevant, but the enforced removal of the dresses from the shop floor is the real victory for Chloe, emphasising not only their vigilance in these matters but also their message to the high street that they are determined to protect the exclusivity of the brand. Indeed this is the third copyright win for Chloe who have successfully sued two other retailers in the past. Internet firm Banansoup went bankrupt after they were brought to book over a copy of Chloe’s ubiquitous Paddington bag and fellow French label Kookai lost a court battle over accusations that they had copied the Silverado.

According to Chloe’s solicitor today there are two other design infringement cases in the pipeline. High street retailers beware, you could be next on Chloe's hit list...

By Melissa Dick

Posted: 27 July 2007