Coachella, the annual music and arts festival that takes place in the California desert, is suing Urban Outfitters for using the event’s name to sell apparel.
Legal representatives from Coachella told a federal court on Thursday that Urban’s affiliate brand, Free People, which merchandises bohemian-style clothing and accessories — an aesthetic often associated with Coachella — is using the Coachella trademark to sell products, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Free People’s retail items in question include the “Coachella Boot,” “Coachella Mini Dress,” “Coachella Pocket Tank” and “Coachella Valley Tunic,” according to the LA Times.
Coachella alleges that Urban is “trading on the goodwill and fame” of the Coachella brand and uses “Coachella” as a search keyword to advertise its products online, as well as placing the brand name in Free People’s display URLs, the LA Times reports.
“As a result, a Google search for ‘Coachella clothing’ results in an advertisement for Defendants’ infringing goods,” Coachella said in its complaint, according to the LA Times.
Coachella is asking the court for unspecified damages as well as an order that requires Urban to remove for sale any infringing items in addition to engaging in “corrective advertising” that informs customers that the festival is in not affiliated in any way with Urban or Free People, the LA Times reports.
