On December 17, 2021, the American jewelry brand David Yurman filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against its 8-year-old Canadian-based rival, Mejuri, asserting two counts of unregistered trade dress infringement and state law dilution.In the complaint, David Yurman Enterprises LLC, David Yurman IP LLC, and Yurman Retail North America LLC (collectively “Yurman” or “Plaintiffs”) allege that Mejuri, Inc. and Mejuri (US), Inc. (collectively “Mejuri” or “Defendants”) are infringing Yurman’s trade dress rights to several of the pieces Yurman has designed, advertised, and sold over the course of more than 40 years, particularly those with its signature twisted helix cable motif in its Pure Form® and Sculpted Cable collections. For example, Yurman claims its Pure Form® Cable Bracelet is strikingly similar to Mejuri’s Croissant Dôme Bracelet or Croissant Dôme Cuff Bracelet. Further, Yurman claims that Mejuri is using the same type of advertising images, the same models, and the same female empowerment messaging to attract its consumers.
As a result, Yurman argues that consumers who see Mejuri’s “copycat” products “either at the point of purchase or thereafter, have been and will continue to be actually confused into thinking that the Mejuri product is related to Yurman.” Yurman adds that “ordinary consumers are likely to be confused as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or approval relating to the Mejuri products vis-à-vis [its own products]”, which in turn is damaging to its goodwill and reputation. Furthermore, Yurman asserts that Mejuri’s actions were designed to “blur” and “dilute Yurman’s extremely well-known trade dress, and to create confusion and mistake and to deceive consumers into the false belief that Mejuri’s products are associated with, affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or otherwise connected to Yurman and its products.” However, Yurman recognizes its product quality is still unmatched, stating: “Unfortunately for Mejuri’s customers, Mejuri is unable or unwilling to match Yurman’s product quality, selling products that quickly tarnish and are of lesser overall quality.”
For Mejuri’s alleged infringement and dilution of Yurman’s trade dress, Yurman is seeking a permanent injunction, damages (including actual, direct, indirect, consequential, special, and treble damages), attorneys’ fees and costs, and a court order requiring Mejuri “to melt down and recycle any remaining inventory of the infringing products and take down and destroy any and all advertising and promotional materials, displays, marketing materials, web pages, and all other data or things relating to the infringing products.”
The case is David Yurman Enterprises LLC, et al. v. Mejuri, Inc., et al., 1:21-cv-10821 (SDNY).