LEVI STRAUSS & CO.
Onda oversees a core global IP team of 12 people, with an additional 12 to 15 people acting as brand protection co-ordinators around the world. Together with his team, Onda is responsible for all registration issues, clearance issues, infringement matters and anti-counterfeiting.
“COUNTERFEITING PROVIDES A PARTICULAR CHALLENGE, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE SPEED AT WHICH VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL COPIES OF LEVI'S PRODUCTS CAN GET INTO THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE”
Levi Strauss & Co. employees are acutely aware of their brand’s history and status, and are keen to ensure it continues. “Te Levi’s jean is an icon, it’s the authentic blue jean,” Onda says.
Tat of, course, creates problems. “Unfortunately, there are people who want to take advantage of that rich history and goodwill of our brands. Tey try to copy features of the brand to ride on that goodwill, reputation and quality. We also face counterfeiting, where they not only try to mimic our trademarks, but copy them wholly and try to pass off their goods as Levi’s,” Onda says. “As part of our company’s brand protection programme, we work to preserve and protect the value of those historic trademarks, which are some of the oldest in the apparel industry. If we allow others to infringe our trademarks, our consumers’ trust for our products eventually could erode, so that’s obviously a concern for us.”
Tere are two main categories of infringement the company faces. Onda says: “Tere’s the egregious counterfeiting category, when someone will copy the name, the stitching design, the tab, and really try and pass it off as a Levi’s jean, and then there’s the general infringement category, where they copy certain features, but not necessarily our brand name. Tey copy it and try to sell it under their own brand—so not counterfeiting per se, but infringement of our other trademark rights. Tose trademarks would be for, say, the design that featured on the waistband on our jeans, the pocket tab on the jeans, the stitching design, the 501 mark. Tey copy those elements but they may not copy the jeans themselves.”
Counterfeiting provides a particular challenge, primarily because of the speed at which virtually identical copies of Levi’s products can get into the global marketplace. While Onda acknowledges that it is impossible to deal with all instances of counterfeiting all of the time, Levi Strauss & Co. has a robust and proactive strategy for targeting infringers.
“We have a long-established brand protection programme within the company and we use several methods,” Onda says. “We have our own brand protection co-ordinators who employ investigation methods, but oſten our employees will bring infringements or counterfeits to our attention. We subscribe to an international watch service. We receive notice of third parties attempting to register
12 World Intellectual Property Review May/June 2010
infringing trademarks. In the US, we review the
US Patent and Trademark Office Official Gazette
on a weekly basis to see if any other third parties are trying to infringe our marks.”
But merely looking for infringement and dealing with it as and when it occurs may not be enough. Te company works closely with trademark offices and law enforcement agencies to ensure that the brand is as well protected as possible.
“We are very proactive,” Onda continues. “We register our trademarks with agencies worldwide. We also train customs officials to identify counterfeit products and to seize them before they get into the marketplace. We have a very comprehensive training programme. We record our trademark registrations with customs, so we act proactively to nip the infringements in the bud. Most customs officials are quite open and receptive to receiving training. Most of them will actually hold sessions that they organise. Tey invite brand owners to come in and train them to identify fake products. We’ll also sometimes work with other brand owners in a coalition to organise meetings with customs officials. Te response has been good. Tey’re very receptive and they’re a great partner in trying to stop counterfeiting.”
While Levi Strauss & Co. is certainly not shy when it comes to taking firm action against infringers, it pays to vary the approach depending on the specifics of the problem.
Onda says: “When an infringement or counterfeit is brought to our attention, generally a decision is made to pursue it. I usually make that decision. Te process involves sending a cease and desist letter to the third party. If it’s an egregious or repeat infringement, we may opt to immediately file suit, but we always try to reach an amicable solution. Most of our cases are settled out of court. If we do need to file suit, the case goes through the general process. Even in those cases though, there are very few cases that proceed to trial. We’re generally able to settle most cases before that point.”
And just as different types of offence might meet with different responses, so much may depend on where an infringement occurs.
“If the infringement is global, or appears in several markets worldwide, one strategy is to pursue the matter in our strongest jurisdiction,” Onda says. “In other situations, when it’s a local problem, we deal with it on a case-by-case basis. And of course we consider all the factors involved, including the strength of our rights in the country and the strength of the enforcement in the country, before we decide how to pursue it.”
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