Fashion

Chanel wins its lawsuit against Jonak

By Eva Morletto29 octobre 2024

In a ruling handed down on 16 October, the French courts fined shoe brand Jonak €180,000 for parasitism on Chanel's famous ‘Slingbacks’ model.

Jonak's ‘Dhapou’ pumps have too many details in common with Chanel's Slingbacks. The design of the straps and the two-tone black and beige colour are very similar to those used by Chanel, above (Shutterstock)

The Paris Court of Appeal has delivered its verdict: Jonak is guilty of unfair competition against luxury giant Chanel. The shoe brand, owned for three generations by the Nakam family, is guilty of ‘parasitism’. This particular type of infringement consists of exploiting another company's reputation and brand identity to gain an advantage. Certain models of Jonak pumps are said to be too similar to Chanel's iconic creations.

The ‘Dhapou’ pumps, offered by the French shoe brand founded in Paris in 1964, have too many details in common with the ‘Slingback’ pumps. The design of the straps and the two-tone black and beige colour are strongly reminiscent of those used by the rue Cambon house. The dispute began in May 2020, when Chanel served formal notice on Jonak, accusing it of having marketed models imitating the characteristics of six of its two-tone creations from the spring-summer 2020 collection. The court ruled that Jonak should pay a penalty of €180,000: €150,000 for the economic damage caused to the luxury house, and €30,000 to compensate for moral prejudice.

In addition to this fine, Jonak is required to withdraw the models concerned from the market within one month. If Jonak fails to comply with this requirement, the company will be required to pay a penalty of €1,000 per day of delay. The French courts have thus reaffirmed the importance of intellectual property rights in protecting creations and brands of excellence.

Imitations are becoming increasingly common in the luxury sector. The line between imitation and counterfeit is now very thin, especially since the phenomenon of ‘dupes’ has gained prominence on social networks, led by TikTok. Dupes’ are products that are strongly inspired by top-of-the-range items, but manufactured by mainstream brands. ‘Dupe’ is now one of the most popular words on the TikTok network, with almost 9 billion hits.

Coco Chanel used to say: ‘’Being copied is the price of success‘’. It would seem that today, more than ever, this is the case. According to Morning Consult, 31% of American consumers have already bought ‘dupes’. A report by YPulse at the end of last year found that two-thirds of Europeans aged between 13 and 39 - members of generations Z and Millennials - already own at least one ‘dupe’.

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