Estee Lauder vs. Gap: Court rules Lauder's 100% skin care name should be protected.
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
ESTEE LAUDER'S 100% NAME HAS "SUGGESTIVE" MEANING AND SHOULD BE PROTECTED as a trademark, according to a July 22 New York federal court decision settling a trademark infringement suit between Estee Lauder and The Gap. According to the decision, "as `100%' is suggestive, the court finds that Lauder's mark is inherently distinctive and therefore protectible without proof of secondary meaning." San Francisco-based The Gap had planned to launch a fragrance and skin care line under the 100% Body Care umbrella into its Old Navy retail doors in August but has delayed the launch until late September.
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