Louis Vuitton sues Warner Bros over handbag
French fashion house Louis Vuitton is suing Warner Brothers over a handbag featured in the US film ‘The Hangover Part II’. The suit was filed in late December 2011, with Louis Vuitton claiming trademark dilution and unfair competition against the film studio.
The trademark dilution suit concerns a specific scene in the film. The scene in question is when Zach Galifianakis’s character exclaims to Ed Helms’s character to be cautious with his luggage. Mr Galifianakis’s character says: “Careful! That is a Louis Vuitton!” The comedic element of the scene is that Mr Galifiankis mispronounces the fashion label’s name. However, the bag used in the film was not made by Louis Vuitton but by Diophy, a company that creates handbags with a similar pattern and colour scheme to Louis Vuitton’s products.
Louis Vuitton alleges trademark dilution and unfair competition, among other claims. The firm is looking for a share of the profits from the film, which has made more than $563 million since its May 27, 2011 opening. Louis Vuitton has also requested that the contentious scene be cut from the movie.
