Copycat, Copycat: American Eagle Outfitters Wins Injunction Against Payless Shoes

Have you noticed that Payless Shoes is starting to sell American Eagle Outfitters merchandise? Well, they’re not. They bought a a footwear brand called American Eagle from another company and (allegedly) redesigned it to look like American Eagle Outfitters’ merchandise.

The Pittsburgh Business Times says:

American Eagle said that for more than 20 years, it and shoe wholesaler Jimlar co-existed without customer confusion, but that Payless has been falsely indicating to consumers it is selling American Eagle Outfitters merchandise.

A court has now issued a ruling that forces Payless to put up a clear “disclaimer” that informs customers that they are not buying American Eagle Outfitters products. This isn’t the first time Payless has run into trouble for doing this sort of thing, apparently they’ve also lost lawsuits brought by Adidas and K-Swiss.

American Eagle wins injunction against Payless over shoe portrayal [Bizjournals]

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