A New York based luxury footwear designer is suing Louis Vuitton for allegedly stealing one of his sneaker designs, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.
Antonio Brown, creator of LVL XIII, pronounced "Level 13," claims that famed international fashion label Louis Vuitton unlawfully profited from his trademark sneaker design, a shiny metal plate on the front of the shoe engraved with "LVL XIII."
Louis Vuitton, owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, created a sneaker in March that also has a metal plate in the front as well as the back. Though it's not engraved with LVL XIII, Brown accused the French designer of unfair competition "by selling footwear using trade dress that is confusingly similar to the LVL XIII toe plate and which impinges on the goodwill in it," according to the lawsuit filed in June.
Brown, whose customers include celebrities like Nick Cannon, Jason Derulo and Nas, had the metal plate design registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in August 2013. By November his label debut in stores, selling $500,000 worth of shoes in two months, according to the ABC.
The New York-raised designer remembers the day he found out about Louis Vuitton's "On the Road" sneaker while at a shoe factory in Brazil.
"Honestly, I was shocked, I needed to see it for myself," he told the journal. "Out of all the brands, the largest luxury conglomerate in the world. I would have thought that they wouldn't have made that mistake, would have done their research."
Brown's reputation also took a hit, with his clients accusing him of being a copycat. He is seeking an order for the 160-year-old brand to stop using the metal plates and to pay him damages from the profits.
Louis Vuitton released a statement denouncing Brown's lawsuit, the ABC reported.
"The lawsuit is entirely without merit, and the company will vigorously defend itself."
