fashion in the courtroom

Director Woody Allen and American Apparel's two-year battle have finally come to an end. American Apparel has agreed to pay Allen $5 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the company used his image on billboards and the Internet without his consent. “Naturally there is some relief of not having to go through a trial, but I also harbor a sense of remorse and sadness for not arguing an important issue regarding the First Amendment, particularly the ability of an individual or corporation to invoke the likeness of a public figure in a satiric and social statement,” said CEO and founder of American Apparel, Dov Charney, who also mentioned that the decision to settle the case was made on behalf of the company's insurance carrier. Good thing this trial is over; it was a weird one.

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Don't mess with fashion giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

After a two-year trial, a French court ordered eBay to pay up for selling counterfeit items on its online auction site and for selling genuine goods outside LVMH's retail channels. The penalty was a whopping 40 million euros, or $63.2 million at the current exchange rate.

This all came about when prestigious brands including Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Fendi, Emilio Pucci, and Marc Jacobs had complained about the sale of knockoff bags and clothes on eBay.

Pierre Godet, an adviser to LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, said the Paris court's decision was, ''an answer to a particularly serious question, on whether the Internet is a free-for-all for the most hateful, parasitic practices.'' In rebuttal, eBay said that LVMH is trying to crack down on Internet auctions merely because it is uncomfortable with the business model, which tends to cut out the middleman.

Sounds like both parties are still heated, but for now, the courtroom has cooled.

Victoria Beckham is serious about her denim. So serious she's taking it to court. The British powerhouse, who has been battling rumors that her dVb denim line is under performing in the US, is expanding the drama by suing Rock & Republic, who originally manufactured her namesake denim line. She is suing them for approximately $100 million dollars. The payout is said to be compensation for lost earnings — VB believes the jeans made more money than was said. Let the battle begin.

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