The (Trade-mark) Battle of the Reptiles

Late last month, following a bitter and long-running trade-mark dispute, an agreement was reached between French fashion giant Lacoste and Hong Kong-based Crocodile Garments Ltd. In 1933, René Lacoste placed a crocodile emblem on a line of sports clothing.   The right-facing reptile became a fashion icon and status symbol and, by the early 1980s, Lacoste had a $400 million business in the US alone. Crocodile Garments has used a similar - but left-facing reptile - since the 1950's, when it registered its trade-mark in Hong Kong.   In 1980, Lacoste appointed Crocodile Garments as the sole distributor of its products in Hong Kong.   That same year, Lacoste registered its trade-mark in China, eager to capitalize on the potential mainland market.   The relationship soured when Crocodile Garments tried to register its trade-mark in China.   In 1998, Lacoste sued Crocodile Garments in Hong Kong for breaching their 1980 agreement by making the trade-mark application and also filed suit against the company in Beijing for trade-mark infringement.   Lacoste won its Hong Kong suit in 1999. Under the recent settlement, reached in a Beijing court, Crocodile Garments agreed to stop selling clothes with its current logo in mainland China by 2006.   After that, the company will use a new logo – a circled crocodile with a vertical tail, larger eyes and more scaly skin.   Crocodile Garments will be allowed to continue selling clothes with its original, left-facing lizard in Hong Kong while also distributing Lacoste's brand there.   The companies expressed the hope that the agreement will help end the growing piracy of both brands in China. For more information, see: http://www.msnbc.com/news/984164.asp?cp1=1; or http://edition.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/10/31/crocodile.logo. Summary by:   Clare McCurley