CVS and Family Dollar Stores Inc. Sued for Impressions of Perfume
I went to my local CVS store recently and saw a bunch of “Impression” perfumes. I was rather amused by them because they were basically imitations of pricey perfumes sold in high-end department stores. There were titles such as “Impression of Happy by Clinique” and “Impression of Beautiful by Estee Lauder.” Although these perfumes were knocks-offs, but at least they were not counterfeit products that claimed to be the real thing.
Unfortunately for CVS Caremark Corp, Family Dollar Stores Inc., and Preferred Fragrance Inc. (who made the knock-offs), Estee Lauder Cosmetic Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against them on Wednesday. Estee Lauder accused CVS and Family Dollar of selling imitation products that used their actual registered trademarks and/or names that were very similar to the original ones.
The suit included accusations of “trademark infringement, false advertising, diluting their trademarks and unfair competition.” It seeks for an injunction to stop CVS and Family Dollar from selling the products and asking for damages of up to $1 million for each individual type of knock-offs.
While I was in the store, I actually tried one of the “Impression” perfumes for fun. In fact, I had tried on an “Impression of Happy by Clinique.” Although the scent was somewhat similar, it was very obvious that it was an imitation because it smelled mustier than the real Clinique Happy. However, if people can’t afford the real one, I don’t think it is a huge deal to buy an imitation if one did not mind the scent difference.
On the other hand, I can see why Estee Lauder and Clinique would be worried about the loss of business from the knock-offs. Then again, if a person is buying an imitation due to its lower price tag, they wouldn’t be buying the real, more expensive version anyway. Not that I am advocating knock-offs, but why not let everyone (who can and cannot afford the authentic product) enjoy the scent as long as it’s not counterfeit and contain questionable ingredients.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:04 am
I agree. I don’t see the big deal with perfume knock-offs. However, I suppose I can see how their name use could ruffle their feathers a bit.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
It’s not fair play anymore to use a designer name on a non-designer product. They should really just use another name as lawsuits are heating up regarding copyright infringement.
I guess there is a lot of money to be lost for a company when this occurs. In fact, I saw an artist using the LV logo and handbag in a t-shirt design and they are suing her - and it was for charity to help Darfur.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I recall seeing these and few smelled close to real thing.
They will probably just change the names to something similar but not the actual trademark.