Louis Vuitton Drops Sneaker After New Balance Lawsuit

by Erin Donnelly (Subscribe to Erin Donnelly's posts)
Posted Dec 17th 2009 at 11:45AM

New Balance claimed its "574" sneaker, above, was copied by Louis Vuitton's "Minstrel" shoe. Photo: amazon.com (top)

Louis Vuitton may want to think twice before trying to follow in New Balance's footsteps again.

The luxury label has had to discontinue its "Minstrel" sneaker design as part of its settlement with New Balance, who had filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against them, WWD reports.

As we previously reported, New Balance claimed in September that the all-gray "Minstrel" (priced at $590) was a rip-off of its longtime "574" model ($75).

"Louis Vuitton's superior marketing ability and fame is likely to lead to reverse confusion because some relevant consumers will come to associate the 574 design with Louis Vuitton, not New Balance," the company's lawyers said at the time, according to the paper.

The settlement between LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. means the latter's case will be dismissed, though no financial terms have been revealed, says the source.

On the bright side, LVMH North American director of civil enforcement Michael Pantalony reportedly called the settlement "amicable," while New Balance expressed interest in teaming up with its former foe to tackle trademark issues.

"Based on our experience in resolving this issue and understanding what we both share in protecting intellectual property, we now hope to explore joining forces with Louis Vuitton in certain anticounterfeiting initiatives," Ed Haddad, the sneaker brand's vice president of intellectual property, told WWD.

And then the two linked arms and skipped off to go share an ice cream sundae with two spoons.

If only all fashion disputes ended this peacefully.

Meanwhile, check out Louis Vuitton's new campaign starring Lara Stone.

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Filed under: Accessories, Fashion, News, Designers & Brands
Tags: 574 sneaker, Fashion Lawsuits, louis vuitton, lvmh, minstrel, new balance, Shoes, sneakers

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READER COMMENTS

(14)Add A Comment

E-Dude, 12-20-2009, 8:51AM

They look nothing like each other. I heard NB had a copyright on the color grey. And they had more money. And they whine, bitch, and moan. LVMH had nothing so they lost.

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ShoeMaker Smith, 12-20-2009, 11:28AM

Seriously? You think they look "nothing" alike. Wow... You must be looking at different pictures. Also, NB doesn't own the rights to gray sneakers. There are a lot of gray sneakers out there. The construction of the shoe, dimensions and design are pretty much the same. Change the LV logo and beige laces and trim, it's the same shoe. What LV probably did was lift a sneaker template from a shoe manufacturing company and went from there... that manufacturer should be slapped around too because I am willing to bet it's the same people making both shoes. Luxury brands use low-grade factories to make their products all the time... then silly folks willing to pay $600 for sneakers don't know they cost $2.12 to make...

tyrebitre, 12-20-2009, 1:04PM

Have to side with E-Dude. ALL shoes share a common basic design - it has to do with what they are intended to fit and explains why they don't look like gloves, spatulas, or eggbeaters. The two shoes look alike only as far as both falling into the "sneaker" design: the soles are different, so are the toe wraps, the lace hole pattern, the tongue design, stitching patterns, heel and heel padding, ankle support, and even the toe sloping. If they weren't both a close shade of gray (you can't patent a basic color except in the context of a logo), you wouldn't think they looked alike. The reason this didn't go to court was Louis Vuitton knew they weren't going to sell enough of these $600 sneakers to cover even the cost of having a lawyer simply answer the lawsuit. It really is kind of a pity since anyone stupid enough to pay for these should have been allowed to be parted from their money.

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lking4trbl, 12-20-2009, 9:19AM

This is stupid. One shoe is almost 600 bucks, the other under 100. It's not likely they will compete with in same market.

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Eric, 12-20-2009, 11:40AM

When companies stop vigorously protecting their trademarks and intellectual property, then they will eventually lose their rights to these. It's not about competition, it's about protecting your brand so that when the $25 sneaker maker starts ripping you off, you'll still be protected.

Zathros, 12-23-2009, 11:14AM

Please, STOP THE SPAM! I would encourage commentors to push the "Report" button for every spam comment they come across. Could the websites provide moderators to delete the spammers?

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Jim Balfanz, 12-20-2009, 12:11PM

New Balance is one of the most respected companies in the athletic footwear industry. The have credibility and integrity and work hard to protect what they have spent years building up. They did the right thing and should be recognized for the excellent company they are. We need more companies like this in our corparate world...

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Jim Balfanz, 12-20-2009, 12:11PM

should have been corporate..... :) :) NB is the best shoe company in the U.S.

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E-Dude, 12-20-2009, 5:49PM

Gee.. Shoemaker. Thanks for that vote of confidence. But I can still understand your point of view because looking closer the pieces them selves look simular. But then lets compare other simular types of shoes ...are they made the same basic way too? There is part back by the heel that the NB has that the other doesn't. The part on the back that goes around the opening is different than the NB. I'd still want to compare other shoes with these and see if there are any simulaties to those too.

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Gene, 12-21-2009, 12:49AM

As a runner LV's shoe can't compare to New Ballance. NB is a far supperior shoe. I don't even know why they cared about some overpriced piece of garbage that some trendy people will be wearing. Those who run would never buy the LV shoe and those who pay for a label that costs $600 is not smart enough to buy NB.

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