Levi's takes on Japanese Denim Resellers and Manufacturers

[kiya]

here goes..

it's been a long few days, so i'm basically going to spit out the facts:

-Levi's is suing your two favorite denim stores in America, along with Studio D'Artisan, Iron Heart, Toyo/Sugarcane, Oni (BS United), and Samurai.

-Everybody is being sued for trademark infringment

-All sales of the above mentioned brands are to be stopped by Friday, January 19, 2007 WORLDWIDE

-US and Japanese Customs are in on this, no jeans made by the above brands are to be sent out of Japan starting two days ago (January 15) to stores OR consumers. you've been warned, don't attempt to order your jeans via a bidding service or have a friend send them to you

-The offending points are as follows: 1. There are to be NO tabs attatched between two pieces of fabric on the rear pockets, 2. The cards hanging out of the back pocket, stapled to the pocket, must not look anything like vintage/modern Levi's Info Cards, 3. Arcuates on the rear pockets must not resemble the Levi's arcuate in ANY way shape or form, 4. Rear leather patch cannot contain an image of two moving objects (horses, motorcylcles, pigs, etc..) pulling apart a pair of jeans

-All product with any of the above mentioned accents must be pulled from the shelves of every store in the world by Friday, January 19

-I've spoken to most of the manufacturers named in the lawsuit in Japan already and they are quickly working on producing jeans with either NO back pocket stitching or stitching that is greatly different than the Levi's Arcuate. We are looking at a four week period where there will be very low stock of denim from these companies

-There are four more companies they're going after, i cannot name those at this time.

-This is one of the most comprehensive and largest lawsuits Levi's has filed against Japanese denim manufacturers

a few quick updates:

-this was a court order, NOT ceast and desist.

-Levi's is winning this, there's no doubt about it

-This lawsuit has been many months in the works, maybe even before any of the aformentioned stores opened

Another update:

ok.. My head is going to fucking blow..

here's a few things..

-cuts will NOT have to change, this has nothing to do with cuts, read my original post if you think that the cuts will have to be altered

-Any further questions regarding what can and what can NOT sold MUST be directed to Self Edge's main phone number which is 415-558-0658

-when calling Self Edge please ask if the pair you want is in stock and available for shipping, at that point we'll know if we can ship them to you. there are certain items which have been removed from our stock for good, and there are certain items that are questionable and we're waiting to hear from the lawyers and are still selling via phone orders.

-please do not fight over this, the entire situation makes us all at Self Edge very uneasy, and the last thing we need is this entire community worldwide to be bickering over boycotts, petitions, anti-levi's t-shirts, etc.. i will say this again, levi's is in the right. the lawyers are seeing that we're cooperating and they're working with us to resolve this issue. keep in mind that this might all take quite some time, and there might be a denim shortage from a few labels for a four week long period, and maybe longer if they decide to fight it in Japan.

-stick with us, i've been following this industry for many years and i can truly say that this is merely another chapter in the progess of denim design and manufacturing. it's going to be nice to see what the japanese companies are coming up with next.

-many of the companies named in the lawsuit have already sent me mock-up drawings of ideas of labels, stitchings, etc.. i have mixed feelings, but i guarantee what ever they come up with will be classic, timeless, and fit the persona of the designer. they take our opinions to heart, so you can know that we're not going to be behind any terrible outlandish stitchings. which by the way, nobody has yet to submit anything that's made me want to gag... you should have no worries...

another update:

Iron Heart is quickly working on releasing their new line without the arcuates, a different leather tag, and no red tab. We're looking at a February 20th release of their current line to come out without the offending accents. The Self Edge x Iron Heart jeans are still set for a first week of March release.

Imperial will no longer have the horses on their tags, new tag will be unleashed sometime in February.

Flat Head, i have no idea, i have a phone meeting with them in ten minutes that will probably last through the night. We're going to try and figure out exactly what needs to happen to their line and how quickly it can be done.

Another update:

we're still working with Iron Heart on their stitching and tag, Imperial on their tag, and Flat Head on their stitching..

in the meanwhile, we can't release any photos of mock ups. but the final stitchings and tags will be decided on by Monday for all three of the above mentioned companies.

I am in a daze right now, especially after the thought that i'm literally helping all these companies redesign their accents for their entire lines and that we're going back and forth with ideas and drawings and concepts. in the end though, it's their vision that needs to come through, and i'm positive it will.

these are people that live and breath denim, i can only wish to one day be nearly as immersed in the world of denim as they are.

but for now, being sued by Levi's is enough for me.

Denim Por Vida,

Kiya

[Tarmac]

wow..... can't say I didnt see it coming

[snugglepony]

cease and desist order (aka threat of litigation)?

or actual court order? (if this is the case, which court?)

[LIVENUDEGIRLS]

Damn, that sucks. I love Levi's but I hope they lose this battle. I want the ability to purchase Japanese repros.

[Double D]

I can't see Levis winning this court battle. Orange failed to win a case against a company in Japan or somewhere with a very similar logo because the shade of orange wasn't quite the same chart number...

[ayn]

denim speakeasy it is, just PM me the password and I will have money in hand!

[weirdnjfan1]

I saw this coming the minute I saw the patch on some of those jeans.

Edit: Check out BIG's site, all of the Sam and Canes are gone.

[Tarmac]

As unfortunate as it is, I don't see a reason why Levi's would lose this battle. The red tag on the upper left pocket is a Levis trademark, as are the arcuates. We of course appreciated it because the jeans were good and we don't like any of Levis current offerings, but say, something like SDA arcuate, that is an obvious infringement.

[artificialsky]

basically what i heard was happening.

one key point: the suit is worldwide, which means that the manufactorers will have to alter their jeans even for the japanese market, which fortunately means (i think) that they won't stop providing jeans for american retailers, which they might if the lawsuit was just in america.

sad to see everyone bending over and taking it from levis like this, since this suit, given current copyright laws (ESPECIALLY in japan) would be nearly undefendable in court. but levis has tons of money and these companies don't.

[Circanineteen85]

holy shit, thats so dumb, and right when i finally had the money to buy samurais... sheesh

[eastcoastrider27]

The only thing that really bothers me (as a consumer) is the removal of tabs from the rear pockets.

- I always remove the back pocket stitching.

- The cards hanging out of the back pocket are meaningless.

- Companies can get more creative with the leather patch

I guess there won't be any true repros anymore, but whatever. They weren't really repros anyway, since they always went above and beyond what Levi's did.

[kow]

I got a weird mental image of people going to innocuous stores to order leather patches that look like Levi's repro patches, without being attached to jeans, then taking a blank pair of jeans to some underground sewing room to have the patches stitched onto the jeans and to get the pocket stitching done.

[T A M A D]

BOYCOTT LEVI'S !

(not that many people here were rocking them in the first place!)

[PG2G]

They should sell conversion kits. Get your tabs and back pocket sticthing added at your local tailor, heh.

Can't really blame Levi's though, as much as I want to.

[fallen angels]

damn... so Levi's is suing Self Edge, but according to that 3sixteen interview, Levi's wants to make a jean for Self Edge too. ...

[Panda-san]

Crap, I wonder how 2000db is going to get all of our jeans out of the country. Do you really think customs is going to open outbound packages to check for illegal denim, or what?

[PG2G]

So, will Self Edge and BiG be having big 75% off sales today - friday?

[mspark]

Levis was the originator, plain and simple. Even if they fell off, you cant just jack someone's style,claim it as your own(slightly modified or not) and not pay eventually.

[artificialsky]

They should sell conversion kits. Get your tabs and back pocket sticthing added at your local tailor, heh.

Can't really blame Levi's though, as much as I want to.

actually you can. the only thing they have going for them is that their trademarks on the red tab and back pocket stitching are old as shit. you could NEVER get a trademark for something like that today, -especially- in apparel.

they would lose in court, but it would take a monumental opponent to be match them in terms of the cash you need to fight a protracted, multi-year copyright infraction lawsuit, somebody like diesel maybe (though that would never happen because of they have no interest in doing red tabs).

look at microsoft vs. apple.

[poly800rock]

this is what it sounds like when dove cry

[kiya]

damn... so Levi's is suing Self Edge, but according to that 3sixteen interview, Levi's wants to make a jean for Self Edge too. ...

I asked their attorney group about that last night and they basically said "Levi's legal department and creative department don't interact with each other"

so who knows...

[jwied82]

so, whos for a boycott of levi's. Dont buy anything from them ever again.

Not that i have bought anything from levis in the last several years, and im not even a fan of japanese repros (Dont see the point in it, id rather see more of the high-quailty japanese denimcompanies doing more modern fits), but still, this is just stupid. Makes me glad i dont own any levi's

And, doesnt Imperial have the jeans being pulled apart on their patch?? I hope they arent involved too.

[docnbhd]

wtf... any way of petitioning against this?

[peteyross]

All your base are belong to LEVIS

[Superstar]

must say that this case seems closed... levis is a huge ass company and seems like the japanese companies are getting away cheap at the price with only having to alter the tab, arcuate and the backpocket cards...

at least levis are letting these companies live, and we should be thankfull...

but levis for me? hell no motherfucker...

[ayn]

So, will Self Edge and BiG be having big 75% off sales today - friday?

no, coz like they can prolly sell the shit at 200% now!!

[Superstar]

Crap, I wonder how 2000db is going to get all of our jeans out of the country. Do you really think customs is going to open outbound packages to check for illegal denim, or what?

he will be smuggling them in condoms in his arse...

[ayn]

Is the SExIH collab moving on without the stitching et al?

the one pair we tried on didn't have anything that looked like arcuates, so should be fine...

[docnbhd]

So is homeland security going to stop checking ports and packages for nuclear devices and such and start looking for red tabs and any two fucking items pulling denim apart?

LOL^^^.... that is so funny

[Superstar]

the sight of a homeland security guard ripping the arcuate and red tab of a pair of sammies - PRICELESS !