Tiffany will not roll over, and they will fight as hard as they have to in order to win. Their entire business is build upon luxury quality and it would be devastating if anyone could claim they are selling TIFFANY diamond rings.
We look forward to proving this in the upcoming court case. Costco’s counter-claim is an unfounded and weak attempt to defend its willful and infringing use of the TIFFANY trademark. When Costco used that trademark to refer to goods that had nothing whatsoever to do with Tiffany & Co., they infringed Tiffany’s trademark, while damaging both their own customers and the Tiffany brand. The TIFFANY mark is a federally registered incontestable trademark, has been continuously used for over 175 years and enjoys worldwide fame and recognition as designating superior goods from Tiffany & Co, and particularly Tiffany & Co. She explained:Ĭostco’s answer seeks to muddy the waters, but one thing remains clear. Linda Buckley, who is Vice President of Worldwide Public Relations at Tiffany & Co., told us that their trademark has been registered for over 175 years and they look forward to proving Costco’s infringement in court. when we contacted them for further comment after Costco filed its Answer. Let’s dig a little deeper here to see what is going on and then I’ll offer my assessment of what is likely to happen.įirst, let’s begin with what we learned from Tiffany & Co. To the uninitiated this line of defense may seem peculiar at first, and then upon learning a bit about the law behind the defense it might seem as if Costco has the upper hand. In support of this position Costco submitted dictionary definitions, pages from Wedding Planning for Dummies discussing rings, online articles (such as from ), online sales pages (such as from ) and other materials. But then Costco decided to aggressively defend what seems indefensible.Ĭostco is basing its defense on the belief that the “he word Tiffany is a generic term for ring settings comprising multiple slender prongs extending upward from a base to hold a single gemstone.” See opening paragraph of the Costco Answer and Counterclaim. This should have been an open and shut case. For more information see Tiffany Sues Costco Over Counterfeit Diamond Rings. Thus, Tiffany has asked for an apology and they want the world to know that they never have and never will sell their rings to discounters or wholesalers. They want everyone to know that they are watching and when they find infringers they will act swiftly. Tiffany’s is seeking a permanent injunction, damages, treble damages and punitive damages for the alleged infringement and other alleged unlawful acts, but if you read the complaint carefully i t seems pretty clear that what they really want is to make a public example out of Costco. The complaint filed by Tiffany alleges counterfeiting, trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition, injury to business reputation, false and deceptive business practices and false advertising.
District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Costco was engaging in the sale of counterfeit TIFFANY diamond engagement rings. On February 15, 2013, Tiffany and Company filed a lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corporation in the U.S.
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