Louis Vuitton Suing Maryland Live! Casino for Alleged Logo Ripoff

^{The Louis Vuitton logos the subject of a lawsuit by the fashion firm against Maryland Live! Casino allegedly using a knockoff version (pictured above) in promotions. (Photo: courtesy of U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland)}

Iconic fashion house Louis Vuitton filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Maryland on Monday, accusing the Maryland Live! Casino & Hotel of infringing on its trademarks during two promotional campaigns launched by the resort earlier this year.

In the complaint, Louis Vuitton claims that an April campaign called “The Art of Luxury” offered rewards program members at the Hanover, Maryland, casino a “luxury bag collection” featuring multiple designs that are trademarked by the fashion firm.

Vuitton Says Knockoff Bags Were a Bad Bet for Casino

In the complaint, Louis Vuitton provides images showing nearly identical patterns between one of its designs and one used by the casino, with the fashion house’s logo replaced in the center by the casino’s own Live! logo. branding.

“[The promotion was designed] to purposefully infringe the iconic Louis Vuitton Monogram Design and to effectively link Louis Vuitton with defendants’ Live! Casino,” the lawsuit reads. “This was done with one specific and intentional purpose—to falsely convey to the consuming public that Louis Vuitton and defendants’ Live Casino are affiliated.”

According to Louis Vuitton, it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Maryland Live! after learning of the promotion, and the casino replied on April 17, saying it would stop distributing the products. However, a subsequent May promotion then offered a “Luxury French Collection” that the company says showed images of “purportedly authentic” Louis Vuitton products.

Louis Vuitton is seeking up to $2 million per counterfeit mark per type of goods, with all of the knockoff merchandise featuring a Maryland Live! logo to be destroyed, The company also wants the casino to send out corrective messaging explaining to customers that its giveaway products were not authentic Louis Vuitton merchandise, and that there is no association between the resort and the French fashion house.

Promotional Images Still Up on Social Media

Maryland Live! and its owner, The Cordish Companies, have yet to comment publicly on the case. However, posts detailing the second promotion from May are still live on Instagram at the time of this writing.

Louis Vuitton was founded in 1854 and has become one of the most recognizable luxury fashion brands in the world. Its headquarters remain in Paris to this day, and the interlocking LV logo is considered one of the most iconic branding symbols in the world.

Maryland Live! was the first of the Live-branded casinos opened by The Cordish Companies, beginning operations in 2012. The casino features approximately 4,750 slot machines, along with more than 120 table games and a 52-table poker room. The resort also includes a 310-room hotel, which opened in 2018.