Steve Madden Claims Scandi Cool Girl Brand Ganni Is ‘Harassing’ Retail Partners Over Shoe Designs

Steve Madden is seeking to stop Ganni from interfering with its business relationships in its latest legal battle.

According to an ongoing lawsuit that was first filed in July in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Steve Madden is claiming that Ganni has sent a rapid series of cease-and-desist letters to the company and its United States wholesale customers and resellers, including Nordstrom and Dillard’s, since February.

In the letters, Steve Madden said that the Danish fashion brand is alleging that its “Graya” flat and, at least in one instance, the “Sandria” sandal, infringe worldwide copyrights and other intellectual property rights Ganni claims to own in its “Feminine Buckle Ballerina” and “Feminine Buckle Two-Strap Sandal.”

“Ganni did not invent the ballet flat or the slingback flat; Ganni did not invent the timeless pointed toe or the combined use of belted straps and metal eyelets on shoe designs; and Ganni certainly did not invent the use of two-adjustable buckle straps on an open-toe sandal,” the Long Island City, N.Y.-based Steve Madden wrote in the lawsuit. “Simply put, Ganni owns no intellectual property rights in its shoe design in the United States and its claims of ‘worldwide’ rights are patently false.”

As of now, the case is still in its early stages as Ganni’s main operations are in Europe. In fact, Ganni’s Danish headquarters, was only served the lawsuit last month. As of Oct. 4, Ganni has 21 days to respond to Steve Madden’s allegations.

Madden said Ganni’s allegations of trademark infringement have no basis since its design is not original. “As of the date of this filing, Steve Madden has identified almost 100 similar versions of the Buckle Ballerina and Two-Strap Sandal presently or previously available for sale in the United States,” the suit said.

Madden went on to state that Ganni has been “harassing and threatening” Steve Madden and its customers. For instance, the company alleged that Ganni demanded that Dillard’s destroy its inventory of Graya shoes, Madden said. Then, Ganni made the same demands of Nordstrom, which in turn canceled hundreds of customer orders for Graya shoes based on Ganni’s misrepresentations, Madden claimed.

Ganni has also sued a small e-commerce California retail site, Lulu’s Fashion Lounge LLC, in Denmark courts demanding that it cease all sales of the Steve Madden shoes and destroy its inventory. Steve Madden claims that this suit was also filed to inflict harm on Steve Madden and its business relationships.

“Ganni’s tortious and improper attempts to use foreign litigation and other harassment tactics to stop the lawful manufacturing, marketing, and selling of Steve Madden’s shoes in the United States is interfering with Steve Madden’s legitimate business and its contractual relationships with its customers,” the lawsuit claims. “Ganni’s statements to Steve Madden customers are false and defamatory in nature, improperly leading Steve Madden’s longtime customers to believe that Steve Madden is infringing on design rights in the United States that Ganni does not have.”

FN has reached out to Steve Madden, Ganni and Nordstrom for comment.