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| The Avengers Blu-Ray Box Set on Amazon.com |
German luxury attaché case maker Rimowa
claims in a recently-filed federal lawsuit in Los Angeles that the packaging
for the forthcoming Blu-ray box set of the Marvel Entertainment movie Avengers is
an unauthorized knock-off of its Topas attaché case.
The “Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One — Avengers AssembledBox Set” comes in a briefcase that resembles the case used by Nick Fury (played
by Samuel L. Jackson) in the movie.
The German luxury case maker claims that it supplied
Marvel with a genuine attaché for the blockbuster
movie, but did not grant permission to make plastic replicas for the
DVD packaging.
Rimowa
claims the plastic briefcases are cheap knockoffs, and amount to trademark
infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition in a Los
Angeles federal court suit.
According to Marvel’s marketing materials, the Blu-Ray version
of the movie are packaged in a plastic “exclusive replica of Nick Fury’s iconic briefcase.”
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The Rimowa Topas attaché |
“Images of the replica briefcase on Marvel’s advertising
materials, and fan video from Marvel’s product display at this year’s ComicCon
convention, show the plastic ‘replica case’ to be a close copy of Rimowa’s
Topas attaché case in every respect but quality — from the proportions and
coloring, to the style of the handle and latches, and, of course, in the use of
the trademarked parallel ridges around the body of the case,” the German
company claims in its lawsuit.
The attaché “was the repository for Nick Fury’s dossiers on the
various superheroes who ultimately constituted the Avengers team,” according to
the the suit.
Amazonis offering the Blu-Ray DVD box set for sale for about $140. The product is
scheduled to be released September 25, 2012.
