Brooks Brothers loses trademark case

Brooks Brothers, America's oldest men's retailer, has lost a

trademark case for the use of a fox and hunting boot logo.

The original logo was used by a company called Peal & Co, which was purchased by Brooks Brothers in 1965. The logo, which had been in existence since the mid-19th century, was then dropped and no longer used. Shortly afterwards, WS Foster & Son recruited a number of employees of the old business and adopted the logo.

In 2005 Brooks Brothers relaunched its footwear offer and began using the logo in the UK, resulting in WS Foster & Sons filing a claim in 2012.

Judge Iain Purvis ruled that as Brooks Brothers had abandoned the logo in 1965 no residual goodwill remained under its ownership.

Brooks Brother currently operates 210 boutiques in the USA and 70 in other countries.