Charges were pressed by Jocelyn Imbert, the creator of LV’s well-known Twist lock.
After a seven-year-long copyright infringement dispute, Louis Vuitton has been ordered to pay €900,000 (about $990,240) to settle a lawsuit served against them by Jocelyn Imbert.
As reported by Vogue Business, it concerns a hardware design that Imbert created in 1988. Named the “LV Tournant,” it was only meant to be used in the Louis Vuitton Malletier. However, in 1992, both Imbert and Louis Vuitton signed a contract that if the lock’s design were used for other pieces, she would receive additional compensation of €76,000 (approximately $83,230).
Pressing charges
Despite the official agreement, the French house came out with the Twist line, using Imbert’s design without her knowledge. In fact, the hardware is a focal point in the pieces—“signature LV Twist lock” is written on the website under the collection’s product description.
In addition, this month, the Nicolas Ghesquière-helmed brand released a campaign for the LV Twist featuring global ambassador Squid Game’s HoYeon Jung.
This caught Imbert’s attention in 2014, and she pressed charges as she was not given the required payouts. In a statement, Imbert’s lawyer Jean-Philippe Hugot said, “to summarize Louis Vuitton’s position; they claim that the 1992 agreement enables them to exploit my client’s creation on every product.”
“Needless to say, we strongly disagree with this. My client has always expected a negotiation with Louis Vuitton.” In the matter of the case, Louis Vuitton Malletier will now have to pay Imbert €900,000 EUR ($992,709 USD) in compensation in accordance with the court appeal,” Hugot said.
Initially, judges dismissed the case in 2020. Now it appears that Imbert has settled the issue with a payment from LVMH. So far, Louis Vuitton or its parent company LVMH has not commented on the issue.
Banner photo from @hoooooyeony on Instagram.
