Marc Jacobs: A Copyright Epilogue

Mar 04, 2008 @ 12:34pm

The Swede whose designs were stolen by Marc Jacobs has finally been compensated.

Swedish papers report today that Göran Olofsson has reached a settlement with Marc Jacobs and LVMH, after Marc copied the print for a silk scarf first sold by Olofsson's father in the '70s.

Olofsson declined to disclose his settlement, but we'd like to hear from you:

How much is reasonable when a major designer knocks off your creation? And should it be more or less than when Forever 21 does it?

posted by guest

Mar 04, 2008 1:12PM

i think it should be more than when forever 21 does it! we count on people like marc jacobs to be creative, not knock off others. plus when marc jacobs gets ripped off by forever 21, he still probably makes more money off it than forever 21 does, while this swedish guy probably doesn't charge half as much for that scarf and probably never made anywhere near as much profit as marc did.

posted by guest

Mar 04, 2008 1:30PM

oh wow, that is outright copying, not even "inspired by" I think that it is equal for each party regardless of income or social status, copying is copying.

I do think it is slightly different when forever 21 takes an outfit and changes a few details than when marc jacobs just changes the name at the top.

posted by guest

Mar 04, 2008 1:37PM

The Olofsson's should be proud to stand up to Marc Jacobs. Really, Forever 21 is just following Marc's footsteps....he has copied many designers. He even had the chutzpah to rip off the whole genre of grunge!

posted by guest

Mar 04, 2008 1:45PM

I dunno to be honest I don't get angry when forever21 does it because the quality is cheap and it's a one time wear...however..this pisses me off because he is in fact a designer it makes me so mad because i feel like he thought no one would catch him stealing from some artist in sweden..grrrr

posted by guest

Mar 04, 2008 1:59PM

Marc Jacobs should totally pay more! Forever 21 never tries to maintain the quality of the original work. It's a knock-off....but Marc, oh Marc. you are a designer! use your own ideas....or at least pay someone BEFOREHAND when you need to steal an idea!

posted by guest

Mar 04, 2008 2:02PM

Those designers who have been ripped off should be entitled to compensatory damages, including a percentage of sales. In this case the print is quite likely legally protected.
Do they even design at Marc--this is a company notorious for purchasing vintage clothes, slapping their labels in them and sending them down the runway.

posted by guest

Mar 04, 2008 3:52PM

Practically every major designer buys vintage, then copies it or does minor tweaking......Jill Stuart, Jean Paul Gaultier, Anna Sui, etc. so it is interesting to see a lawsuit brought on by the relative of a very vintage item. I haven't seen that before. You know this makes the other designers shake in their boots. It is not just Marc Jacobs that does this. Ever major designer practically resources vintage pieces from showrooms such as Southpaw that exist for that purpose, or from vintage anywhere and everywhere. Jill Stuart even used to sell her vintage purchases for inspiration in the lower level of her store.

posted by sam alex

Mar 04, 2008 11:09PM

At first I was going to say Marc should definitely pay more, but from a legal standpoint I suppose that wouldn't really fly...but damn, that is such a blatant copy!

posted by mckeb753

Mar 05, 2008 12:03AM

yes, it's true that a lot of major designers do buy vintage pieces and then recreate them in new fabrics as part of their collections...but clearly that is much different than what went on here

posted by guest

Mar 05, 2008 5:47AM

Ok, this is an exact rip-off, not an interpretation or an inspiration: Marc took the whole design and product and only added the LV name. And to think how litigious the folks at LVMH are when protecting their brand, I mean, you cannot put an L and a V together anywhere without hearing from these folks...