Funny, H&M Is Suing Forever 21 Over a Copycat Tote Bag

This is rich. Copycat brand H&M has filed a lawsuit against copycat brand Forever 21 for copying one of its designs. The design in question is a tote bag for the beach that cleverly reads “Beach Please.”

Who wouldn’t want this bag? H&M claims that a copycat version of the bag conveniently turned up in Forever 21 stores after being sold at H&M. They’re asking that Forever 21 kindly cease sales of the bag to avoid tarnishing H&M’s reputation.

Fashion Law reports:

Earlier this summer, Swedish fast fashion giant, H&M, filed suit against Los Angeles-based fast fashion giant, Forever 21, for copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition.

In the lawsuit, H&M says that their popular bag (created by an in-house designer) has been available in its stores and online since April 2014:

H&M also goes on to allege that the bag has acquired “secondary meaning in that H&M is recognized as the original source of the tote bags.” Meanwhile, H&M filed to federally register its copyright in the design, which became effective in June 2015 (because H&M values and wants to protect its own intellectual property while exploiting and capitalizing on the IP of others). A month later, H&M filed suit.

H&M also brings up Forever 21’s Chinese manufacturers, arguing that “many of the products sold by Defendant are manufactured in China for the Defendant. The Defendant has also been accused of copyright violations in the past.”