Nirvana’s smiley face logo is iconic, instantly recognisable as the face of grunge, the genre the band helped create. Maybe that’s why they trademarked the image back in 1992. Now, Marc Jacobs is running into some trouble regarding that trademark.
According to The Fashion Law, a lawsuit claims that Marc Jacobs’ “Bootleg Redux Grunge” collection – announced in November this year – uses the same squiggly-smiled face without the band’s consent. The eyes are replaced with the initials “M” and “J”, but still.
The lawsuit even takes issue with the name of the collection (which includes shirts, socks, and sweaters). Apparently, since Nirvana were pioneers on the grunge scene, the line has them to thank for its name. That’s not really relevant if the band didn’t trademark “Grunge” though, which seems unlikely.
As For Marc Jacobs, he’s on holiday and doesn’t have any time for any gossip now, as he made clear in a video posted on his Instagram with the tags #onvacation, #nostress, #justpeaceandquiet.
Anyway, here’s to plenty more fashion label lawsuits in the new year.