DOONEY & BOURKE Rainbow Block Monogram Y2K Tassel Bag

In March 2003, Peter Dooney of Dooney & Bourke, in an experimental trip to Europe with four senior accessory design students from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), devised the It-Bag Collection, consisting of six different silhouettes rendered in, you guessed it, multicolor interlocking D&B initials. Multi Color DB What ensued was a lengthy four-year trademark battle between the two brands, ultimately leading, like much of fashion IP precedent, to a victory for Dooney due to there being “no proof that the similarities in the marks are likely to confuse ordinary consumers, whether it is at the point of initial interest, point-of-sale, or post-sale.” Unsurprisingly, the It Bag generated over $100 million in sales, the most popular being, as the New York Times reports, “the one that looks the most like the Vuitton… Some fade inside on trim around pockets. 5-4