David Yurman Strikes Back

Posted by Maire Loughran Jul 31, 2007

I was reading the latest Colored Stone magazine and there was a very interesting article in the magazine - "Marking Your Turf". It discussed how designers could protect their jewelry brand.

Of course, one of the examples was David Yurman who has been in and out of court since the early 2000's fighting manufacturers of knock off jewelry and additionally - interestingly enough - a suit against a company that had Yurman retail approval for pushing the jewelry onto another retailer for sale. Yurman is very picky apparently about what shops in which his designs are sold.

You know - why shouldn't he be? If there is a legally binding contract that states shop A will sell his product in only shop A then those were the terms that Yurman and shop A agreed to. Maybe whichever shop A passed the jewelry onto was the equivalent of a WalMart (in Yurman's world at least). That would serve to lesson the effect of his brand name.

Back to the copyright and trademark enfringement - the most recognizable of Yurman's designs is the twisted cable helix bracelet. Yurman himself states this design was inspired by ancient Egyptian designs. If you've read any of my articles you know I find this design to be identical to the Celtic torq.

What sets Yurman's bracelet apart are the assembly details: the helix shape, the terminators which are jeweled in a particular way. And quite important in the equation - do consumers identify these details with Yurman's designs alone? Might be a hard sell on jewelry design besides his twisted cable helix bracelet - but time will tell as subsequent cases go through the court system.