Marlon Brando Sues Joe’s Jeans Over A Leather Jacket

by Megan Baldwin | 1:53 pm, May 25th, 2010

What’s in a name? Well, quite a lot if the name happens to be Marlon Brando. According to reports, Brando’s estate has recently filed a lawsuit against denim maker Joe’s Jeans, claiming unlicensed use of the Brando name in their marketing campaign for The Brando leather jacket, as well as using one of the actor’s most famous films – The Wild One — as the title of their newsletter.

Guess the line between flattery and infringement is a pretty fine one. But according to the suit — which is seeking compensation as well as an injunction to stop the maker from using the name — Joe’s never sought permission for use of the “name and mark ‘Brando’ or ‘The Brando,’ or the identity or persona of Marlon Brando.” Basically, they used his name without asking. While it all sounds like a lot of legalized nonsense over nothing –what about free use? — consider the potential industry-wide implications for Birkins everywhere (though we’ve got to believe they had her permission.)

Alas, when we said suits were making a comeback, this is definitely not what we meant.

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