Helly Hansen sues Off-White over trademarked striped logo

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jul 16, 2018

Helly Hansen has filed a trademark suit against Off-White claiming the streetwear label intentionally stole its black and white striped logo from the 40-year-old Norwegian technical outerwear brand.

Helly Hansen, which maintains a US office in Washington State, filed its complaint in Illinois federal court last week, alleging Off-White intentionally “adopted the infringing [trademark] with knowledge of, and the intent … to create a false suggestion of an affiliation or connection between [Off-White] and Helly Hansen, where none exists,” adding that Virgil Abloh’s brand attempted to trade off of Helly Hansen’s goodwill.

And the company is not playing around. In its complaint, Helly Hansen not only asks the court to award damages and have Off-White turn over its allegedly infringing designs, but also seeks to have two of Off-White’s registered trademarks cancelled and removed from federal protection.

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According to the complaint, Helly Hansen claims Off-White copied the “parallel striping of white and another contrasting color that appears on the shoulder and sleeve of shirts and on the outer seam of the pants."

Helly Hansen asserts its ownership right to the striped mark which it claims it used for 36 years before Off-White registered its own logo. 

Off-White has been operating with its striped logo since 2013. While collaborations featuring the buzzy streetwear label’s stripes are highly coveted, it is unclear why Helly Hansen waited five years before suing for an alleged infringement.

Off-White has not yet filed an official response to the lawsuit.