Chrome Hearts is taking Crocs Inc. to court in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed this week against the footwear company.
The Los Angeles luxury label, known for its edgy leather goods and accessories, alleges a charm style for Crocs’ well-known clogs veers too close to one of its signature marks.
Crocs’ Jibbitz shoe charms “bear marks identical, substantially indistinguishable or confusingly similar to the Chrome Hearts marks,” the company’s lawsuit filed in California district court claims.
The complaint, which was filed Wednesday, is one of more than 100 trademark infringement lawsuits Chrome Hearts said it has filed over the past five years as it looks to tamp down on an increasing number of copycat goods.
The charms have been sold on the Crocs website, Amazon and Zappos and have also been touted on Crocs social media accounts.
Chrome Hearts’ lawsuit went on to say the charms are “likely to cause confusion for consumers, including [Chrome Hearts] customers,” who may be led to believe they’re made in the luxury fashion company’s Los Angeles workshop.
The company maintains tight control over distribution of its products, selling exclusively through its fleet of stores and online shop. It also has a wholesale business, selling in retailers such as United Arrows, Dover Street Market, Bergdorf Goodman and Selfridges.
“Through longstanding use, advertising and registration, the Chrome Hearts marks have achieved a high degree of consumer recognition in the United States and the world over and constitute famous marks,” the company said in its complaint.
Chrome Heart’s lawsuit said it spends more than $1 million annually on advertising and marketing, with those efforts generating more than $1 billion in sales since the company’s 1988 founding.
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