Sean John sued by Ellesse for trademark infringement

According to the NY Post, the clothing company owned by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Sean John, is being sued for trademark infringement. Ellesse is suing, claiming that a design on a Sean John line infringes their mark. Ellesse has a bunch of trademarks, and it appears they are referring to U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1247607, registered on August 9, 1983. The mark is:



The original image is located on the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office's website.

The Sean John mark appears to be the one below. I have grabbed a copy for illustrative purposes from Macys.com, in the event the image is removed from Macy's website.




Ellesse claims the Sean John marks "is likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception as to the source, association, affiliation or sponsorship of the goods being offered." While I do not specifically know which marks are involved, I would have to say that the two marks shown above are quite similar. There are arguments that can be made about the differences in colors, in the way the images are formed, and that the Sean John logo includes text. The Ellesse mark covers apparel, including t-shirts.

My guess? I think that Sean John doesn't really have a chance. The two logos do look quite similar, and Ellesse has been using the mark for at least 10 years longer than Sean John. Sean John might want to consider settling this case.