Tommy Hilfiger Files Lawsuit Against Cowboy Equipment Alleging Trademark and Trade Dress Infringement

Business Wire, Oct 6, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1999--

Tommy Hilfiger Licensing, Inc. and Tommy Hilfiger Wholesale, Inc., wholly-owned subsidiaries of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation (NYSE: TOM), today announced they have filed a lawsuit against Cowboy Equipment, an Oklahoma-based wholesaler of Western wear, to stop it from selling products that allegedly infringe Tommy Hilfiger's trademarks and packaging designs.

According to the complaint, Cowboy Equipment is using on apparel, including underwear and t-shirts, a flag logo design that infringes upon Tommy Hilfiger's well-known and distinctive Flag logo trademark. The complaint also alleges that Cowboy Equipment has copied the packaging design used by Tommy Hilfiger for underwear and is using a red, white and blue star logo on t-shirts that closely simulates the Tommy Hilfiger logo used for its Tommy Jeans lines.

Joel Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Tommy Hilfiger, commented, "Cowboy Equipment's use of logos and packaging so strikingly similar to ours to introduce its line could only have been intentional. We will not stand by idly and allow others to attempt to benefit unjustly from the value of our trademarks and trade dress and the goodwill we have cultivated with consumers over many years."

Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs, sources and markets men's and women's sportswear, jeanswear and childrenswear under the Tommy Hilfiger trademarks. Through a range of strategic licensing agreements, the Company is expanding its product lines to offer a broader array of apparel, accessories, footwear, fragrance, and home furnishings. The Company's products can be found in leading department and specialty stores throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and other countries in the Far East.