L.L. Bean drops lawsuit against canvas tote copycat
In a federal lawsuit filed in March, L.L.Bean charged 4Imprint with trademark infringement, deceptive trade practices and unfair competition for selling a "confusingly similar" canvas bag called the "Boat Tote."
L.L.Bean's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, claimed that 4Imprint "sells the same goods, to the same consumers, using the same advertising and sales channels ... using 'Boat Tote' in an apparent effort to deliberately free ride on L.L.Bean's well-known (trademark)."
On Thursday, L.L.Bean filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, which simply states that its case was "voluntarily dismissed with prejudice" against 4imprint.
Representatives of each company didn't respond immediately to interview requests.
Under federal rules for civil lawsuits, a plaintiff may dismiss its own case if the court or the defendant have yet to respond. A dismissal with prejudice is final and bars the plaintiff from refiling the same claim. This typically happens when a matter is resolved outside court.
As of Friday, there was no apparent item called "Boat Tote" for sale on 4Imprint's website, although there were multiple canvas, cotton and other bags similar to the L.L.Bean totes, including bags referencing lakes, beaches, schooners and other nautical themes.
When L.L.Bean celebrated the 80th anniversary of its "Boat and Tote" canvas bag last year, news stories noted its growing popularity among celebrities and social media influencers decades after the Maine company first sold it in 1944.
L.L.Bean sells several styles and sizes of Boat and Tote bags, recognizable for their two-tone heavy canvas construction. There's a leather-handled version that sells for $99 and a key-chain miniature bag priced at $9.95, according to the company's website.
4Imprint sells several similar bags, including a "Large Heavyweight Cotton Canvas Tote." It can be custom imprinted with a company or group logo and purchased in lots ranging from 15 bags for $20 each to 1,000 bags for $11.49 each, according to the company's website.
Founded in 1912, L.L.Bean first sold its tote as a sturdy carrier for heavy ice blocks that were used in iceboxes, which preceded refrigerators. It disappeared from the company's catalog for a while before being reintroduced in 1965 as the Boat and Tote.
The lawsuit said the success and commercial strength of the Boat and Tote brand has led to high-profile collaborations and partnerships with other companies, including Tibi, Farmgirl Flowers, Abbode, Noah Kahan and the Boston Red Sox.
The digital court document included photos of celebrities seen carrying Boat and Tote bags, including the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, who died in a plane crash in 1999 with her older sister Lauren and her husband, John F. Kennedy Jr.
Other more recent celebrities who are shown using the bag included the now-divorced actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, as well as actresses Chloë Sevigny and Reese Witherspoon, and model Hailey Bieber.
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