On the 31st of January, the website SheFinds.com reported that Hèrmes started a court action against the Californian company Thursday Friday for selling canvas shoppers with a photoprint of the iconic Birkin bag.

So why is this such a big issue? Well, basically you are not allowed to copy a design nor are you allowed to simply use a picture of a design for a identical or similar product. In this specific case, the Birkin design is also protected as a trademark. Therefore, it is not allowed to use an image of the Birkin bag since it is protected on the basis of copyright, design and trademark rights.

In trademark language you could say that there is a likelihood of confusion among the public, meaning that the public could easily believe that the canvas shoppers from Thursday Friday are somehow related to Hèrmes. In addition, by using the image of the Birkin bag, Thursday Friday is riding on the reputation of Hèrmes. Not to mention making lots of profit out of it!

My prediction is that Thursday Friday could find themselves in a lot of trouble!

With lots of thanks to Lotte Brinkman of The World Is Your Runway for informing me about this matter!