Brooklyn art collective MSCHF will have to put a stop to the sale of the Wavy Baby sneaker. Vans secured a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in its trademark infringement lawsuit against Van's classic Old Skool look-alike.
Per Complex, Judge William Kuntz granted the order, writing that the MSCHF sneaker had already confused consumers and could not be considered a parody. MSCHF declined to comment in an email sent to Complex.
The Wavy Baby is a collaboration with Tyga that redesigned Van's Old Skool skate shoe. MSCHF employees claim they released 4,306 pairs of the sneakers in April, and set aside another 280 to address fulfillment errors and requests from Museums. Per Complex, MSCHF is effectively making no money from the sneakers.
MSCHF lawyers are arguing that the Wavy Baby is designed for a certain kind of sneakerhead - someone that would know the difference between this sneaker and a pair of Vans.
"Plaintiffs have sufficiently demonstrated actual consumer confusion," Kuntz's order read. "Multiple independent sources commented on the similarity between the Old Skool shoes and the Wavy Baby shoes." His comments allude to an episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcasts from April which featured MSCHF chief creative officer Lukas Bentel. The order also included quotes from the Complex editor and podcast co-host Matt Welty saying that the average person would not be able to determine the shoe's true origin without a close inspection.
Kuntz also stated that the Wavy Baby sneaker does not meet the requirements to be considered a parody of Vans' Old Skool. In granting the restraining order, the court forbids MSCHF from fulfilling any more orders and escrowing any money from those that can't be canceled.
[Via]