Coach v Target: More than a Look Alike
The Complaint recently filed by Coach against Target alleges that Target sold a counterfeit Coach purse at its Largo, Florida store. The purse, a photo of which is included in the Complaint, is made of fabric that appears to be identical to Coach's "Signature C" fabric. However, Coach's claims do not rest solely on the purse's use of its Signature C trademarks or on its assertion that the purse is an exact replica of a genuine Coach product. The Complaint goes further, alleging that tags attached to the purse explicitly identified it as a genuine Coach product.
Target has not yet filed a formal response to Coach's Complaint. However, according to press reports, Target is claiming that the purse, which it sold for $200, is, in fact, a genuine Coach product. Coach, on the other hand, has publicly asserted that its engineers examined the bag and determined that it is a counterfeit.
The first count of the Complaint asserts a claim for trademark counterfeiting which, if established, would entitle Coach to elect to recover statutory damages. To establish a counterfeiting violation, Coach will have to show that Target knew that the Coach trademarks used on the purse were counterfeits. The Complaint asserts that "there is a price difference between the Target Counterfeit item and genuine Coach products of the same design" and that Target obtained the purse "with reckless disregard and/or willful blindness as to whether the products it sold bear counterfeits of Coach's Trademarks." These allegations set the stage for a claim by Coach that, even if Target did not have actual knowledge that it was trafficking in counterfeit goods, in light of the price it must have paid for the purse, Target's ignorance was the result of willful blindness.
Coach's lawsuit, Coach, Inc. v. Target Corporation, 06-CV-7875, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 29, 2006 and has been assigned to Judge Alvin Hellerstein.