Jury deliberations began Friday in the Trovata/Forever 21 court case over allegations that Forever 21 purposely copied specific elements from seven designs in Trovata’s collections.
WWD reports this morning that the California jury has informed the judge that they are currently unable to reach a decision. They’ve asked for clarification on some legal points and will resume deliberations today. If they can’t reach a decision, there will be a mistrial.
We’ve been very clear about where stand on the general issue of infringement on intellectual property and really hope for a decision in this case that upholds designers’ rights.
But we’re not surprised to hear that the jury is deadlocked, considering the battles that ensue within our own comments section every time we do an Adventures in Copyright post. (Yes, we do read them. Each and every one.)
However, what’s this we hear of possible jury misconduct on the case? That sounds like something out of a Grisham novel, not a fashion intellectual property trial.
UPDATE: The U.S. District Court judge presiding over the case has just declared a mistrial due to “irreconcilable differences” and dismissed the jury.