Rains to sue Zara for copying its parkas

By

Marion Deslandes

Published
May 23, 2017

The Danish label, specialising in rainwear, is on the offensive: it has accused Zara of violating the copyright of its men’s parkas. To this end, Rains has invested a considerable sum of money.

Rains has submitted a complaint to the Danish chamber of commerce, the Confederation of Danish Enterprise, for copyright violation, targeting Inditex’s fashion chain, Zara. The brand, which opened its concept store in Aarhus in 2016, requested the cession of sales of the model concerned as well as compensation for loss of profit.

“We are determined to defend the brand and its products,” stated the Danish brand, established in 2012. The product concerned, a bottle-green parka which is iconic of the brand, returns season upon season. Rains even drew attention to the likeness between the coat and its copy by modelling them on twins.

With a network of over 4600 retailers across 20 countries, the Scandinavian label requires a considerable sum of money to assert its case, but it can count on a positive result. It points to its recent annual report showing profit of 20 million crowns (2 million euros). “Any potential threat to the business, from Inditex or elsewhere, must be dealt with,” the label continued.

Founder and owner of the brand Daniel Brix Hesselager confirmed his determination to pursue Zara in the newspaper Borsen: “If we don’t react, it’s like tacit acceptance. So it doesn’t matter that it’s a big group. We have mobilised the necessary resources to fight it and we’ll pursue it through to the end.”

The manager had initially contacted Inditex in 2016, when Zara launched the sales of the model. The coats were again sold in 2017, leading the Danish label to act.

It is not the first time that Zara has been accused of copyright infringement.   In 2016, an American illustrator accused the brand of stealing her artwork, and in 2013, Christian Louboutin lost a court case with the Spanish brand.