{"id":2058,"date":"2018-10-09T21:18:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T01:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/?p=2058"},"modified":"2023-07-25T11:44:54","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T15:44:54","slug":"advance-attempts-to-push-black-vogue-out-of-vogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/2018\/10\/advance-attempts-to-push-black-vogue-out-of-vogue\/","title":{"rendered":"Advance Attempts to Push Black Vogue Out of Vogue"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Vogue<\/em> Magazine\u2019s parent company, Advance Magazine Publishers Inc., wants to take Black Vogue founder Nareasha Willis to court.<\/p>\n

On September 28, Advance filed a claim<\/a> at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against 26 year-old Willis, claiming that Willis\u2019 Black Vogue design of the word \u201cVogue\u201d uses\u00a0Vogue<\/em>\u2019s \u201cwell-known font and stylization.\u201d \u00a0Advance alleges that Willis \u201cintend[ed] to create a link between herself and [Vogue], creating the appearance that [Vogue] is affiliated with [Willis\u2019] products.\u201d \u00a0Advance argued that this would create confusion and an assumption of authorization, which is not the case.<\/p>\n

Willis created Black Vogue<\/a> in response to the lack of diversity in the fashion industry. \u00a0With shirts boldly claiming \u201cCan\u2019t Have the Culture Without the Struggle,\u201d \u201cBlack Owned,\u201d and \u201cGhetto Until Proven Fashionable,\u201d Willis\u2019 line drew attention to a kind of cultural appropriation pervasive in fashion, where styles that originate in black culture are criticized as \u201cghetto,\u201d only to later be accepted when adopted by non-black individuals. \u00a0Black Vogue urges designers and the fashion industry \u201cto acknowledge the true inspiration\/creators of the many styles portrayed on a runway<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ironically, Willis\u2019 styles have been featured in both Teen Vogue <\/em>and Vogue<\/em>. \u00a0In April, Vogue<\/em> published a photo<\/a> of fashion stylist Melody Trend wearing the \u201cGhetto Until Proven Fashionable\u201d sweatshirt at Paris Fashion Week that quickly went viral. \u00a0In May, Teen Vogue<\/em> published an in-depth interview<\/a> praising Willis and her company.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t until May 23, when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) denied Willis\u2019 trademark registration, that Advance took action. \u00a0Willis\u2019 trademark was denied due to its similarities with Advance\u2019s own Vogue <\/em>trademark. \u00a0The Vogue<\/em> name has been owned by Cond\u00e9 Nast and Advance (which bought Cond\u00e9 Nast in 1955) since 1892. In response to USPTO\u2019s denial of the trademark, Advance sent Willis a cease-and-desist. \u00a0When Willis refused to stop using Black Vogue, Advance filed this suit.<\/p>\n

As of October 9, all Black Vogue sweatshirts and shirts have been pulled from Willis\u2019 online store<\/a>, though photos of the item in question can still be found<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image: Michele Ursino<\/a>, magazines<\/a>,\u00a0CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jess Hui is an Entertainment Highlight Contributor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and a current first year student at Harvard Law School (Class of 2021).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vogue Magazine\u2019s parent company, Advance Magazine Publishers Inc., wants to take Black Vogue founder Nareasha Willis to court. On September 28, Advance filed a claim at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against 26 year-old Willis, claiming that Willis\u2019 Black Vogue design of the word \u201cVogue\u201d uses\u00a0Vogue\u2019s \u201cwell-known font […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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