Attention Denim Heads

Big news in the Japanese denim industry. It appears as though the big boys at Levis have decided to file a lawsuit againts big name Japanese “repro” denim companies that use very similar design and construction to vintage style levis LVC denim. So basically all denim by brands such as Studio D’Artisan, Iron Heart, Toyo/Sugarcane, Oni (BS United), and Samurai will have to be pulled from shelves immedietly. Although surprising it is understandable on Levis part.But for the rest ill let Kiya from superfuture give the details

Via Kiya

here goes..
it’s been a long few days, so i’m basically going to spit out the facts:

-Levi’s is suing your two favorite denim stores in America, along with Studio D’Artisan, Iron Heart, Toyo/Sugarcane, Oni (BS United), and Samurai.

-Everybody is being sued for trademark infringment

-All sales of the above mentioned brands are to be stopped by Friday, January 19, 2007 WORLDWIDE

-US and Japanese Customs are in on this, no jeans made by the above brands are to be sent out of Japan starting two days ago (January 15) to stores OR consumers. you’ve been warned, don’t attempt to order your jeans via a bidding service or have a friend send them to you

-The offending points are as follows: 1. There are to be NO tabs attatched between two pieces of fabric on the rear pockets, 2. The cards hanging out of the back pocket, stapled to the pocket, must not look anything like vintage/modern Levi’s Info Cards, 3. Arcuates on the rear pockets must not resemble the Levi’s arcuate in ANY way shape or form, 4. Rear leather patch cannot contain an image of two moving objects (horses, motorcylcles, pigs, etc..) pulling apart a pair of jeans

-All product with any of the above mentioned accents must be pulled from the shelves of every store in the world by Friday, January 19

-I’ve spoken to most of the manufacturers named in the lawsuit in Japan already and they are quickly working on producing jeans with either NO back pocket stitching or stitching that is greatly different than the Levi’s Arcuate. We are looking at a four week period where there will be very low stock of denim from these companies

-There are four more companies they’re going after, i cannot name those at this time.

-This is one of the most comprehensive and largest lawsuits Levi’s has filed against Japanese denim manufacturers

-I have two words for everybody “Denim Speakeasy”

a few quick updates:
-this was a court order, NOT ceast and desist.
-Levi’s is winning this, there’s no doubt about it
-This lawsuit has been many months in the works, maybe even before any of the aformentioned stores opened

Another update:
ok.. My head is going to fucking blow..

here’s a few things..
-cuts will NOT have to change, this has nothing to do with cuts, read my original post if you think that the cuts will have to be altered

-Any further questions regarding what can and what can NOT sold MUST be directed to Self Edge’s main phone number which is 415-558-0658

-when calling Self Edge please ask if the pair you want is in stock and available for shipping, at that point we’ll know if we can ship them to you. there are certain items which have been removed from our stock for good, and there are certain items that are questionable and we’re waiting to hear from the lawyers and are still selling via phone orders.

-please do not fight over this, the entire situation makes us all at Self Edge very uneasy, and the last thing we need is this entire community worldwide to be bickering over boycotts, petitions, anti-levi’s t-shirts, etc.. i will say this again, levi’s is in the right. the lawyers are seeing that we’re cooperating and they’re working with us to resolve this issue. keep in mind that this might all take quite some time, and there might be a denim shortage from a few labels for a four week long period, and maybe longer if they decide to fight it in Japan.

-stick with us, i’ve been following this industry for many years and i can truly say that this is merely another chapter in the progess of denim design and manufacturing. it’s going to be nice to see what the japanese companies are coming up with next.

-many of the companies named in the lawsuit have already sent me mock-up drawings of ideas of labels, stitchings, etc.. i have mixed feelings, but i guarantee what ever they come up with will be classic, timeless, and fit the persona of the designer. they take our opinions to heart, so you can know that we’re not going to be behind any terrible outlandish stitchings. which by the way, nobody has yet to submit anything that’s made me want to gag… you should have no worries…

Denim Por Vida,
Kiya

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Peace C-mings