Skate brand Vans has sued Target. The “target of the suit ( pun only slightly intended) is the retailer’s “Carmella Lace-Up “ from its in-house Wild Fable brand, which Vans says is a bit too similar to their classic Old Sokol sneakers.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday and it seeks to collect all profit front the shoes. In addition the Anaheim, California based Vans also requests that Target cease selling the shoes along with and and all merchandise that features bears branding that resembles Vans’ “side stripe design.
In the lawsuit, Vans alleges that Target was “motivated by not only the extreme popularity of Vans’ Old Skool Shoe-which is a top-selling lifestyle shoe among Defendants’ target customers of millennial and Gen-Z women — but also by a desire to misappropriate Vans’ reputation and cachet to unwarranted and instant credibility to Target’s Wild Fable product line upon its launch.”
A Target spokesperson had this to say to the Business Journal:
“At Target, we have a deep appreciation and respect for our design rights. We’re aware of the lawsuit filing and have been in contact with our vendor, who is looking into the claims.”
The retail chain is no stranger to litigation regarding their products being too aesthetically similar to that of other brands. Back in 2003 Burberry Group sued Target for allegedly copying their check print pattern. Asics Tiger Corp. and Asics Japan jointly came after Target in 2003 as well. Their suit alleges that Target’s ProSprint brand shoes featured a stripe design that was similar to theirs.
The shoes in question from the Vans lawsuit are still up for sale on Target’s website. They retail for $15 and are classified as women’s shoes.
