MGA Entertainment has filed a preemptive lawsuit against Louis Vuitton to protect its “parody” of the brand, a poop-shaped bag labelled “Pooey Puitton”.
The children’s toy manufacturer took legal action in response to LV’s claim that the toy encroaches on its IP rights, seeking to prevent any action by the fashion label that could negatively impact sales of the item, which contains a glittery slime labelled “unicorn poop”.
MGA is asserting its right to parody Louis Vuitton’s product line, asserting that “no reasonable consumer would mistake the Pooey product for a Louis Vuitton handbag”, despite its similarity to a 2003 collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
According to design resource Dezeen, MGA Entertainment considers the product a parody of the luxury fashion brand, “designed to mock, criticise, and make fun of the wealth and celebrity” associated with Louis Vuitton products.
In a statement, MGA claims “the use of the Pooey name and Pooey product in association with a product line of magical unicorn poop is intended to criticise or comment upon the rich and famous, the Louis Vuitton name, the ‘LV’ marks, and on their conspicuous consumption”.
