Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. v. Haute Diggity Dog, LLC

Facts

Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. (LVM) (Plaintiff) is a well-known manufacturer and seller of various luxury goods, including ladies handbags, that has adopted trademarks and trade dress that are well recognized and have become famous and distinct.  LVM (Plaintiff) has registered trademarks for “LOUIS VUITTON,” (the LOUIS VUITTON mark”); for a stylized monogram of “LV” (the “LV mark”); for a monogram canvas design consisting of a canvas with repetitions of the LV mark along with four-pointed stars, four-pointed stars inset in curved diamonds, and four-pointed flowers inset in circles (the “Monogram Canvas mark”).  It also adopted a brightly colored version of the Monogram Canvas mark in which the LV mark and the designs were of various colors and the background was white (the “Multicolor design”).  It also adopted another design consisting of a canvas with repetitions of the LV mark on a brown background (the “Cherry design”).  Plaintiff’s products are very expensive, usually costing hundreds or thousands of dollars.  Although Plaintiff also markets a limited selection of luxury pet accessories, it does not make dog toys.  Haute Diggity Dog, LLC (Defendant) manufactures and sells a line of pet chew toys and beds whose names parody elegant high-end brands of products.  In particular, Defendant created a line of “Chewy Vuiton” chew toys that resembled Plaintiff’s handbags.  The toys loosely resemble miniature handbags and inarguably evoke Plaintiff handbags of similar shape, design, and color.  In lieu of the LOUIS VUITTON mark, the dog toy uses “Chewy Vuiton”; in lieu of the LV mark, it uses “CV”; and the other symbols and colors used are imitations, but not exact ones, of those used in the Plaintiff Multicolor and Cherry designs.  The chew toys were mainly sold in pet stores for approximately $20.  Plaintiff claimed Defendant violated the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 (TDRA) (there were other copyright and trademark claims) and sued Defendant for, inter alia, trademark dilution, claiming that Defendant advertising, sale and distribution of the “Chewy Vuiton” dog toys diluted its LOUIS VUITTON, LV, and Monogram Canvas marks, which are famous and distinctive.  On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court concluded that Defendant “Chewy Vuiton” dog toys were successful parodies of Plaintiff’s trademarks, designs, and products, and on that basis, entered judgment in favor of Haute Diggity Dog (Defendant) and all of LVM’s (Plaintiff) claims.  The court of appeals granted review.