When it comes to perfume logos, don't mess with Ralph Lauren.
That's been the takeaway from a recent ruling by New York federal judge Robert Sweet, who ruled that the U.S. Polo Association could not use its horseman logo to market any fragrances, WWD reports. The Polo Association had previously charged that Ralph Lauren's double horsemen logo constituted an unfair monopoly, but it seems the judge disagreed, barring the sport's representative organization from infringing on the designer's "substantive trademark rights" over the motif.
In his ruling, the judge reportedly said his aim was to prevent "consumer confusion" when it comes to the fragrance market, specifically.
"There is ... clearly room in our vast society for both the USPA parties and the PRL [Polo Ralph Lauren] parties to engage in licensing activities that do not conflict with one another, and nothing contained in this opinion should be construed as precluding such activities," wrote Judge Sweet in his opinion. "Nonetheless, to the extent the USPA parties use 'polo' in conjunction with the double horsemen mark on fragrances, this is another matter."
According to the report, USPA representatives pointed out that the logo was disregarded as infringement in the apparel market in a 2006 suit, and are considering an appeal.
