Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Back before Kate Spade New York even launched its younger label Kate Spade Saturday, the sister brand found itself in a trademark infringement lawsuit. Saturday Surf NYC, which—you guessed it—is a surf apparel shop in New York, insisted in November that the names, logos, and aesthetic would cause brand confusion among costumers.
Now, New York district court has sided with Kate Spade Saturday. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum wrote, "I conclude that Saturdays Surf NYC has not shown a likelihood of confusion by a preponderance of the credible evidence. I am particularly persuaded by the relative weakness of the word that the two marks share, the significant distance between the men's and women's products, and the consistent inclusion of the famous house mark, Kate Spade, in its Kate Spade Saturday mark."
Saturday Surf NY told WWD that it plans to appeal: "We are disappointed in the outcome. Our attorneys are currently in the process of evaluating the court's decision and an appeal. Saturdays obviously disagrees with the court's ruling and believes that confusion already exists in the marketplace with all of the similarities between both brands, and will only become more of a problem as Kate Spade Saturday increases its advertising presence around the globe."
· Kate Spade Saturday Wins Trademark Dispute [WWD]
· Kate Spade Projected To Be Bigger Than J.Crew [Racked]