The Italian fashion brands went head to head in a New York courtroom over Guccis allegations that Guess has sold items featuring studied imitations of the Gucci trademarks.
Gucci, which filed the lawsuit in 2009, referenced design elements including a green and red stripe design, a square G, the brand name printed in flowing script and a print of interlocking Gs as clear copies of similar motifs found on Gucci products.
Its about a massive, complicated scheme to knock off Guccis best-known and iconic designs, Guccis lawyer Louis Ederer told the court, Bloomberg reported. He said more than $200 million in Guess products infringed on Gucci designs and that Gucci is seeking damages and other payments worth more than $124m.
Guesss defence hinged on the idea of different customer bases. Daniel Petrocelli, a lawyer for Guess, said the brands were pitched at entirely different price points. Most Guess products could never be confused with Gucci, Petrocelli said.
Guess is not Gucci. It has no reason to be like Gucci and it did not scheme to be like Gucci, he said. Gucci uses leather, Guess uses plastic, thats why it costs 100 bucks.
