Car-Freshener Corporation and Julius Samann Ltd have taken Balenciaga to federal court in New York accusing the luxury Spanish fashion house of copying its trademarked Little Trees car air fresheners.
Balenciaga's Keychain "copies even the specific colours associated with some of the popular scents in which plaintiffs’ Little Trees Air Fresheners are offered” according to the lawsuit, which also states “A comparison of the two known iterations of the Infringing Product to a genuine Little Trees Air Freshener underscores how slavishly Balenciaga copied the plaintiffs’ famous Tree Design Marks in shape, dimension and overall appearance”.
Although the difference in price is huge, Little Trees are concerned “unsuspecting customers will confuse the two brands”.
Balenciaga are yet to remove the keychains from their site.
