Purvi Patel Albers in the Dallas Business Journal: J.C. Penney expects no adverse impacts from Burberry lawsuit

A trademark lawsuit filed by Burberry against J.C. Penney Inc. is not expected to have a major impact to its operations or finances, the Plano company said on Friday ...

Purvi Patel Albers, a partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP, said luxury brands have become more litigious with the rise of fast-fashion retailers (like H & M and Zara) that take current fashion trends and duplicate them quickly and cheaply.

“Luxury brands aren’t making as much money," Albers said. “So they have to be vigilant to make sure boundaries are drawn around how close people get to them.”

For the lawsuit, a court will likely look at whether customers were misguided into thinking J.C. Penney’s products were genuine Burberry garments.

“Burberry has a viable claim that it’s a famous mark. As soon as you see that (Burberry check,) you know it’s Burberry,” Albers said. “If people do similar check patterns, it dilutes a well-known brand.”

Excerpted from the Dallas Business Journal. To read the full article, please click here (subscription required).