Design was copied by Truworths, says angry local

An angry local designer is claiming Truworths has ripped off his label's logo. Now he wants the retail giant to stop producing a T-shirt which has a design bearing a striking resemblance to his. Julian Kubel is the designer and owner of local street-wear brand, Butan Wear.

He said he was shocked when he discovered that Truworths's menswear range, Hemisphere Sport, had a T-shirt with a logo very similar to his label, which he designed three years ago.

"The similarities are so striking. My T-shirt has been on the market since 2007 and we've actually made it our logo on our caps and hoodies. I just want them to stop producing a design similar to mine as it's damaging my label," Kubel said.

Both T-shirts' logos are gold and feature a map of Africa.

Both T-shirts are made in South Africa.

Truworths' marketing and credit director, Emanuel Cristaudo, said their T-shirt, of which about 500 were produced for sale around the country, had been in stores from late July until the end of August.

The T-shirt was still in Truworths stores in Cape Town last week.

Cristaudo said they did not have the logo on any of their other items.

"The Truworths business philosophy is premised on the view that we offer unique styling and high-fashion quality across all our exclusive brands. We produce tens of thousands of styles each year.
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"Hemisphere Sport is one of these brands exclusive to Truworths.

"Inevitably, in a business like ours inspiration comes from many areas. With hundreds of buyers and fashion consultants working with us it is possible, albeit extremely rare, that an item appears in Truworths that is not the same but looks similar to a competitive product elsewhere.

"It is a known fact that in this industry people knock off designs all the time on local and international brands. There are so many designs out there where you can go back to find the original."

Cristaudo added that if the designer was complaining to the press and had valid grounds for assuming copyright infringement then he should not hesitate to contact Truworths's legal department.

Kubel, however, said he could not afford to take on Truworths, and did not want any money from the company.

"The legal route is extremely pricey. In any case by the time the legal proceedings are done, the T-shirts will be out of their stores. I just don't want them to do it again."
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