Fashion brand Marc Jacobs has asked a court to dismiss a copyright infringement suit after the company representing former rock band Nirvana accused it of using a logo without authorisation. The motion, filed March 8 at the US District Court for the Central District of California, said Nirvana LLC's "egregious" complaint made claims that were "factually unsupported". Nirvana's registration covers three elements: the smiley face in dispute, the word 'NIRVANA' written above the smiley face and the words 'flower sniffin kitty pettin baby kissin corporate rock whores' with a horizontal line above them. While Nirvana LLC had alleged that Cobain created the smiley face in 1991, Marc Jacobs said the copyright for the registration lists Nirvana Inc as both the author and the copyright claimant. It said Nirvana LLC failed to state how or whether it obtained rights to the artwork from Cobain, and who was the creator of the other elements of the registration. The fashion brand also said Nirvana's suit should be dismissed for "failure to state a claim". It said Nirvana LLC failed to state which elements of Marc Jacobs' products were "extrinsically similar to any protectable elements" of its copyright-protected logo.

Source: www.worldipreview.com