Chanel wins lawsuit against What Goes Around Comes Around over trademark infringement

An ongoing lawsuit between luxury fashion brand Chanel and What Goes Around Comes Around, a fashion boutique and online retailer, reached its conclusion on Tuesday with the court ruling in favor of Chanel on all counts and awarding the brand $4 million in damages. Additional damages will be considered in post-trial briefs from both sides.

The conflict between the two entities originally began in 2018 and has centered on WGACA’s ability to sell and guarantee the authenticity of the Chanel goods it was selling on resale. Chanel, as it has with other resellers like The RealReal, contested the idea that anyone other than Chanel can guarantee that a sold item is a real Chanel product. The lengthy conflict also came to include WGACA’s use on social media of quotes from Chanel founder Coco Chanel and its use of discount codes such as COCO10 for 10% off. Chanel has alleged that these instances create a false perception among consumers that WGACA and Chanel are officially affiliated.

These types of legal conflicts often hinge on whether a reasonable customer may genuinely be confused about the relationship between the two brands. While boutiques and resale stores have a legal right to sell pre-owned goods without the permission of the original manufacturer, companies like WGACA and The RealReal have gotten into trouble based on their marketing.

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