dave grohl courtney love nirvana
[Photo by: Frances Bean Cobain/Twitter]

Courtney Love, Nirvana members called as witnesses in Marc Jacobs lawsuit

Back in December, designer Marc Jacobs was sued by Nirvana, L.L.C. for copyright infringement stating that Jacobs allegedly used the band’s “Happy Face” logo without permission.

Then, in March, Jacobs responded, denying the claims and requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed.

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Now, Courtney Love, her and Kurt Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain and Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are involved in the legal battle.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the design plans to call all of those parties mentioned as witnesses in the case.

The documents also reveal that Nirvana L.L.C. believes they are owed more than $1 million in damages by Jacobs.

According to Pitchfork, attorneys for Nirvana claim that Jacobs used the band’s infamous smiley logo for their “Redux Grunge Collection”, released this past November.

The design is included on several pieces in the collection including a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and a pair of socks.

Nirvana filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement in December, claiming the designer used their logo without authorization.

According to TMZ, Nirvana has owned the trademark for their iconic smiley face since 1992.

Black with a nearly identically drawn face on it, the Marc Jacobs shirt basically exchanges Nirvana’s dead eyed ‘X’s with an ‘M’ and a ‘J’ and calls it a day.

 

Then, lawyers for Marc Jacobs have now responded, arguing that Nirvana, L.L.C. is not the legitimate owner of the “Happy Face” logo copyright registration, and that the registration is invalid.

The band’s original copyright for the logo is referred to as  “the ’166 Registration,” a registration that Jacobs’ attorneys argue is not what they’ve reproduced.

“The ’166 Registration includes the word “Nirvana.” The Accused Products do not. The ’166 Registration includes the Flower Sniffin Writing. The Accused Products do not. The ‘166 Registration includes a smiley face with Xs as eyes. The Accused Products do not; they use a different letter for each eye, the letters M and J, signifying Marc Jacobs.

The only similarity between what is covered by the ’166 Registration and the artwork contained on the Accused Products that can be gleaned from the Complaint is the use of a substantially circular outline for the smiley face and a squiggly line used for a mouth, with a tongue sticking out.”

Jacobs also argues that Courtney Love and Francis Bean Cobain were well aware of the collection, and even helped celebrate its release.

“The release of the Redux Grunge Collection was met with much fanfare in the fashion press, and fashion insiders rushed to buy the coveted looks that had not been available for 25 years. As friends of the brand, Ms. [Courtney] Love and Ms. [Frances Bean] Cobain helped celebrate the release of the collection.

Each woman was gifted designs from the collection. Ms. Love was invited to perform at the launch event for the collection in Los Angeles. Both Ms. Love and Ms. Cobain “liked” and commented on the images of the collection that Mr. Jacobs posted on his Instagram feed, including, notably, images of Mr. Jacobs in the t-shirt that is one of the Accused Products. Ms. Love commented on one of the images of Mr. Jacobs in that shirt, saying, “Nice photo! Looks some [sic] what familiar! Amazing!”

What do you think of the new members involved in the lawsuit? Sound off in the comments below!

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