Ivanka Trump is used to defending her family name in the court of public opinion, but soon she may find herself having to do it in a real courtroom. A California company is suing Ivanka, claiming her fashion line bearing her famous moniker has an unfair advantage.

The class action lawsuit filed by Modern Apparel Clothing (MAC), a San Francisco clothing and accessories company, alleges that Ivanka has gained unfair advantage “from Donald J. Trump being the President of the United States and from Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared, working for the President of the United States.”

MAC argues that the first daughter’s businesses received a boost in sales after President Trump blasted Nordstrom on Twitter in February, after it dropped Ivanka’s line from its store. Trump tweeted:

My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017

Political adviser Kellyanne Conway made matters worse the following day when she ended an interview with “Fox and Friends” by urging customers to “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff”–resulting in an ethics investigation.

The lawsuit claims that both instances resulted in “reaped unfair benefits and illegal profits at the expense of MAC and the Class it seeks to represent.”

According to data from Lyst, an e-commerce aggregator offering goods and tracking purchasing data from thousands of retailers, from January to February, Ivanka Trump sales increased 346 percent. If you compare her February 2017 sales to her average monthly orders in 2016, there was a 557 percent increase.

While Ivanka’s line has notably gained a boost in sales, its also suffered tremendous setbacks. Aside from Nordstrom, a string of other major retailers have dropped her line from their shelves due to declining sales, and the #GrabYourWallet boycott has led many people to avoid shopping at companies that support Trump family products.

MAC is seeking unspecified damages and a restraining order to preventing Ivanka’s line from being sold in California.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Is Ivanka Trump’s Name an Unfair Competitive Advantage? appeared first on Law Street.

Coachella and Urban Outfitters are locked in the ultimate hipster battle over trademark infringement. On Tuesday, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and its promoter Goldenvoice filed a lawsuit against the clothing retailer. The suit claims that Urban Outfitters has been selling clothes using the festival’s name and trademark design through its line Free People.

According to the lawsuit, at least four products have been marketed using the “Coachella Marks,” which amounts to unfair competition since they are “directly competitive with those offered by Coachella.” The suit described Urban Outfitters’ style philosophy as “bohemian, hipster, ironically humorous, kitschy, retro and vintage.” Many would say that this style is exactly how they think a music festival goer would dress. But that doesn’t mean Urban Outfitters is free to use a specific festival’s name for marketing purposes.

One example the lawsuit mentions is the so-called “Coachella Valley Tunic” which was described on Free People’s website as “the quintessential summer musical festival piece to throw on and go with.” That specific page has since been taken down. Urban Outfitters also allegedly had a whole line called Coachella Bella that was sold by several major retailers such as Macy’s and Amazon.

billboard: #Coachella festival sues Urban Outfitters for trademark infringement https://t.co/cpY6oyXlwi pic.twitter.com/RZ2H5LiQsB

— LiveShed (@LiveShedInc) March 17, 2017

And it doesn’t even end there–according to the suit, Urban has bought some keyword ads from Google, which means that if someone googles the word Coachella, products from Urban could pop up. Coachella has apparently made several demands, including a cease-and-desist letter, that Urban stop using its name, to no effect. The festival said it’s very selective with its licensing agreements and that it already has one with clothing giant H&M.

Coachella came under fire recently when it was revealed that owner Phil Anschutz has given a lot of money to organizations that oppose same-sex marriage, compulsory unionism in workplaces, and global warming science. He has also sued the IRS several times to get out of having to pay taxes.

But Urban is not that innocent either. The company has been sued for using other names as well as designs without permission before. In 2012, it was sued for branding products “Navajo” without having anything to do with the actual Navajo Nation. That case wasn’t settled until November 2016.

Neither Coachella nor Urban Outfitters have offered any public comments about the lawsuit at this time.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Coachella Sues Urban Outfitters For Trademark Infringement appeared first on Law Street.

A Washington D.C. wine bar filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump on Wednesday night, claiming that his continued involvement with the nearby Trump International Hotel creates unfair competition for other businesses. Trump has resigned from the Trump Organization and handed it over to his two sons, but he still holds a financial interest.

The bar claims it has seen a significant decrease in income since the inauguration, and says that now that Trump is president, many officials and lobbyists choose his hotel rather than other local businesses in order to gain political influence. As Trump often drops in on the weekends, there’s also the chance to get some personal time with the president. “It seems to us to be a clear situation in which he’s using his office of the president to get a financial gain at the expense of local businesses,” said the bar’s attorney, Scott Rome.

But Trump’s team called the lawsuit “a wild publicity stunt completely lacking in legal merit.” However, the lawsuit quotes Sean Spicer’s praise of the hotel at a press conference in January as well as an anonymous lobbyist saying that government officials notice who spends money in the hotel bar.

Asked about new Trump hotel lawsuit and claims that Trump hotel is hurting small biz, Sean Spicer says Trump is a supporter of small biz

— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) March 9, 2017

The owners of Cork Wine Bar, Khalid Pitts and Diane Gross, are politically active and often host political fundraisers. Gross used to be a civil rights attorney and counsel to former Senator Barbara Mikulski. Pitts was once the campaign director of the Service Employees International Union, a political director for the Sierra Club, and ran for DC Council three years ago. They say that they appreciate healthy competition between businesses, but that now it feels like every place except for Trump’s hotel is a second choice for anyone wanting to do business with the government.

Have to brag about lawsuit just filed by my amazing dad — still making trouble for people in power, at age 78!

https://t.co/jwt08epKnK

— Nina Morrison (@Nina_R_Morr) March 9, 2017

The bar owners have legal help from pro bono attorneys and they are not seeking any money–they just want to end the unfair competition. It is also not filed as a constitutional challenge regarding the Emoluments Clause, which prohibits a president from accepting benefits from foreign states. The suit addresses Trump as a private businessman, but it still suggests that he could get rid of the problem by resigning.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Washington D.C. Wine Bar Sues Trump For Unfair Competition appeared first on Law Street.