De Beers' Everlon Knot Could Get Tied Up In Court
January 06, 10
De Beer's Everlon Diamond Knot
collection (above) has been accused
of copyright infringement
U.S. jewelry manufacturer Orogem Corp. has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against De Beers, claiming the diamond giant's Everlon Diamond Knot Collection too closely mirrors one of its own designs, court papers show.
The suit, which names De Beers Societe Anonyme plus a dozen retailers and manufacturers who either sell or manufacture the Everlon designs, represents an interesting turn of events, given that De Beers has been quite vocal in claiming it will take legal action to protect the Everlon design from potential copycats.
According to documents filed Dec. 8 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Burbank, Calif.-based Orogem holds copyright registrations for what it calls the "Larkhead" pendant, a necklace featuring a knot motif design. It claims to have sold "thousands of the Larkhead pendants" all over the
In September, De Beers unveiled its own line of knot-themed jewelry via the Everlon collection, which is based upon the Hercules knot and is marketed as the "strength of love, forged in a knot."
Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Sightholders and retailers that were interested in manufacturing or carrying Everlon had to pay De Beers to participate in the trademarked program and to thereby benefit from the marketing prowess that De Beers put behind it. In the suit, Orogem claims that the advertising budget alone amounted to $20 million.
In November, De Beers told National Jeweler that it was sending out cease-and-desist letters to companies believed to have infringed on the Everlon design, and that two of these companies agreed to stop selling the offending jewelry.
According to court documents, Orogem claims that, "many of the pieces in the Everlon Collection are identical or substantially similar" to its Larkhead design, and this similarity is no accident.
"Plaintiff is informed and believes, on that basis alleges, that [De Beers] was aware of and copied Plaintiff's copyrighted Larkhead pendant design when it created the Everlon Collection," all without Orogem's permission, court papers state.
De Beers spokeswoman Lynette Gould told National Jeweler on Tuesday that the company is aware of a "possible copyright complaint" being filed by Orogem against De Beers in connection with certain items in the Everlon collection but that no proceedings have been served in relation to the matter.
She declined further comment on the case but did state that various parts of the Everlon collection have been registered for a combination of trademarks, copyrights and design rights, all of which have separate ownership rights.
Orogem's J.J. Porcell declined comment on the case at this time.
Also named in the suit are retailers J.C. Penney Co. Inc., Macy's Inc., Zale Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Helzberg's Diamond Shops Inc., the Ben Bridge Corp., Samuels Jewelers Inc. and Fred Meyer Jewelers Inc., and manufacturers Rosy Blue Inc., Stuckey Diamonds Inc., Universal Pacific Diamonds and Jewelry LLC (d/b/a Pluczenik) and JB-DM Jewelry LLC, court papers show.
Each of the companies named as defendants are either retailers or manufacturers that paid money to participate in the Everlon program, and sell or make the collection's jewelry.
According to the lawsuit, Orogem is seeking at least $100,000 in damages and any gains, profits or advantages made by the sale of Everlon jewelry, which it estimates has already reached at least $5 million and will continue to grow.
"To aid in determining the full extent of such damages, including such profits as may be recoverable, plaintiff will require an accounting from defendants of all monies generated from the licensing, manufacturing, importation, exportation, distribution and/or sale of the infringing goods alleged herein," court papers state.
According to court documents, Orogem also is asking for attorneys' fees, punitive damages and a permanent injunction barring the manufacture or sale of "any jewelry designs that are identical or substantially similar to plaintiff's copyrighted jewelry designs."
Orogem is also asking for a jury trial in the case.