Brandy Melville sued by F21 for similar design

Los Angeles - Forever 21 has been known to be in a couple of lawsuits regarding copyright issues before. Typically, the fast-fashion retailer is on the receiving end of these lawsuits. This time, the Los Angeles-based retailer is suing another retailer for a similar design: Brandy Melville.

The lawsuit was filed by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Bastiat USA Inc., which also operates under Brandy Melville. Forever 21 alleges in the claim that in May 2015, the teen retailer had put out an item that was very similar in design to Forever 21's. The original clothing item was red in color with a white medallion pattern retailing for 15.90 dollars. Brandy Melville retailed a similar pattern on a dress that sold for more than twice as much as the original, retailing at 38.62 dollars.

As a result of the alleged infringement, Forever 21 also claims it suffered damages to its business because the design was being used elsewhere. As both Forever 21 and Brandy Melville cater to similar audiences, it's not completely unlike that the fast-fashion retailer could've suffered damages in business. However, until the case it settled it won't be clear whether or not Brandy Melville's "similar" dress had an impact.

Photo: Forever 21