USA / NETHERLANDS: Danish art student sued by Louis Vuitton for depicting its trademark handbag on child victim of conflict in Darfur

Record ID: 841698

  • Title: USA / NETHERLANDS: Danish art student sued by Louis Vuitton for depicting its trademark handbag on child victim of conflict in Darfur
  • Date: 25th May 2008
  • Summary: (W5) HAARLEM, NETHERLANDS (MAY 16, 2008) (REUTERS) DANISH DESIGN STUDENT NADIA PLESNER'S POSTER OF A THIN BLACK CHILD WITH CHINCHILLA DOG AND A LOUIS VUITTON BAG VARIOUS OF PLESNER PACKING T-SHIRTS IN HER STUDIO (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANISH DESIGN STUDENT NADIA PLESNER SAYING: "This is what I see on the front covers of magazines, but it's also a kind of bag that I see it's being sold on the streets in China, in Thailand, small kids sitting on the street selling it for a couple of dollars. But still, the people who cannot afford the real thing, they need to buy this as a status symbol. I thought, if this is what it takes today to get attention, this is what you need to wear, maybe it will help to pimp a victim and see if it helps their situation."
  • Embargoed: 9th June 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location:
  • City:
  • Country:
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA58N1M4IQ7OBGXXDHKWHNSF027
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Danish art student Nadia Plesner, being sued by the fashion house Louis Vuitton for depicting its handbag on a T-shirt, says her design has got more people talking about the Darfur conflict than she ever thought.
    Plesner, one of a group of designers who are trying to raise awareness of the violence in Sudan's Darfur region, created an image of a child victim of the conflict holding a tiny dog and a trademark patterned Louis Vuitton handbag.

    "This is what I see on the front covers of magazines, but it's also a kind of bag that I see it's being sold on the streets in China, in Thailand, small kids sitting on the street selling it for a couple of dollars.
    But still, the people who cannot afford the real thing, they need to buy this as a status symbol. I thought, if this is what it takes today to get attention, this is what you need to wear, maybe it will help to pimp a victim and see if it helps their situation," said the 26-year-old, who is studying in Amsterdam.
    Plesner has been inundated with orders for the image on T-shirts and posters since the Paris-based fashion house decided to take her to court for infringing copyright.
    Louis Vuitton, part of the French luxury goods group LVMH, has taken issue with her unauthorised use of its trademark and copyright "for commercial purposes".

    "This issue is important to Louis Vuitton because it directly impacts the brand on which our company has been built and which we must protect," it said in a statement.
    Malcolm Harris, co-founder of Designers for Darfur campaign, said the Louis Vuitton lawsuit had left him torn.

    "As a designer, when I first heard about the lawsuit, I was completely torn. I didn't know if I should side with the side of the artist, which is the artist and myself, or the businessman that's in myself and completely understanding their right to protect their brand. However, we've been contacted by lawyers from across the globe that clearly state that Nadia Plesner's art piece is protected under the laws of satires and parody,"
    he said.
    Plesner said the image she created was also aimed at highlighting the media's obsession with show business at the expense of other global issues.
    The dog in her image is dressed in pink, like the lap dogs often clutched by celebrities.

    "The whole campaign was inspired by how a person like Paris Hilton can get all the attention with her maybe going to prison maybe not situation, compared with the genocide going on in Darfur. I understand it has to be room for entertainment, but I think the balance has to be much better than it is right now. We have to put focus where it's needed," she said.
    Louis Vuitton said a Paris court had issued an injunction on March 25 ordering Plesner to stop selling products that infringed its intellectual property rights, and that it was taking further action after she refused to comply.
    Plesner is due to meet Louis Vuitton executives in Paris on May 30, and said she hoped to convince them to work with her.

    "I mean, everybody knows image of the small, starving black child, we've seen it so many times now, but it doesn't work anymore and even though it's the same horrific situation, people don't get moved by it, so if I made my campaign with only the boy, I don't think it would have gotten all this attention, even though the problem is still the same. But if you put their situation against the rich part of the world, people start to think about it again," she explained.
    Plesner said she had more than 4,000 orders for either T-shirts at 35 euros ($53) a piece or posters at 13 euros.
    She said profits were going to the Divest for Darfur campaign (http://www.savedarfur.org/page/content/index/ ), which seeks to exert economic pressure on the Sudanese government to cooperate with international efforts to end the violence.
    International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been made homeless in the west Sudanese region of Darfur since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms, accusing the central government of neglect.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register