Remember that pretty little, drool worthy Phase One Blu-Ray box set that Marvel was releasing on the 25th of this month? Unfortunately due to a lawsuit, it may never see the light of day.
The suit centers around the briefcase, which as you can see from the above, was the one from THE AVENGERS that contained the Tesseract. German luggage maker, Rimowa BhmbH had their case chosen for the film due to the fact that it is boasted as “being impervious to the elements and being virtually indestructible.” Fans were given their first look at the box set containing the briefcase along with a copy of THE AVENGERS and each of Marvel’s solo superhero films at Comic-Con this year. The problem is that Marvel never received permission from Rimowa BhmbH to create a replica case for the set, so the company is suing Marvel.
“Marvel did not obtain any license or authorization from Rimowa to make replica copies of the cases for any purpose. Images of the replica briefcase on Marvel’s advertising materials, and fan video from Marvel’s product display at this year’s Comic-Con 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.”
Rimowa is, “alleging trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition and is seeking to enjoin Marvel from further infringement. The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial, all profits from allegedly unlawful conduct and an award of three times plaintiff’s actual damages to be proved.”
Who is at the disadvantage here? Obviously, Marvel should have contacted Rimowa and let them know their plans for the box set. That would have solved the issue from the start. But shouldn’t Rimowa be happy that a set like this could draw even more attention to their company? If you could afford one, I suppose. They aren’t exactly Samsonites.
Will we ever get a crack at buying one of these? If both parties can come to an agreement, perhaps. We will just have to wait for the verdict.