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Ralph Lauren has been sued by a company claiming the designer knocked off its teddy bears, Reuters reports. The New York-based Alvin and Sparky, which makes cashmere gifts and accessories, is bringing Ralph Lauren to court over what it believes is copyright infringement. Unfortunately, "it ain't Alvin & Sparky LLC, though!" doesn't have the same ring as Kanye's infamous blurt, "It ain't Ralph, though," but it's where we're at now.
Alvin and Sparky's Samantha Goldberg claims that Ralph Lauren has been knocking off her stuffed animals and selling them in stores, online, and at department stores like Macy's and Bloomingdale's since 2001. But it wasn't until 2013 that she became aware of them.
Goldberg makes a very similar cashmere baby blue and scarfed teddy bear; the "Little Teddy" is $170 and the "Big Teddy" is $195. Lauren's teddy bears sell for a fraction of the price, but they aren't made out of cashmere. Besides that, we will admit they are pretty similar, as far as blue scarfed teddy bears go. See for yourself.
Alvin and Sparky is looking to receive damages from Ralph Lauren as well as an immediate stoppage to the copyright infringement.