Law360, New York (July 29, 2013, 1:30 PM ET) --
Paris Hilton and Parlux Fragrances LLC have settled their claims against a Los Angeles perfume distributor the former reality TV star and heiress to Hilton Worldwide Inc. sued for allegedly ripping off the trademark and designs for her line of fragrances, according to a California federal judge’s order Friday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal threw out the trademark and trade dress suit against Genesis International Perfume Distributors Inc. with prejudice after the parties settled and stipulated for the case's dismissal, the filing said. The terms of the agreement were not spelled out in either Thursday's stipulation Judge Segal’s order, and no settlement document was available in the docket.
Representatives for Hilton and Genesis could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday about the case's resolution.
Hilton and the Florida-based fragrance, perfume and accessory maker Parlux hit Genesis with the suit in January, accusing the retailer of selling knockoff Paris Hilton perfumes in packaging and bottles that were indistinguishable from those used for Hilton's products.
According to the suit, Hilton and Parlux obtained samples of the allegedly infringing perfumes from Genesis's Los Angeles store in October and found that they were "intentionally and confusingly similar" to Hilton's products. The Genesis fragrances allegedly misappropriated Hilton's name, which the socialite, actress and designer trademarked in connection with perfumes, body lotions, bath gel, soaps and cosmetics, the suit said.
Hilton has been using that mark exclusively for her line of beauty products since at least 2004, according to the complaint.
Genesis also allegedly violated the design patent covering the bottle for Hilton's perfumes, issued to Parlux in April 2006. The patent covers many of the ornamental features of the star's fragrance bottles, which are transparent, cylindrical and bear a vertical black wave design along with the name "Paris Hilton" written in lowercase cursive lettering against a silver background.
"An ordinary observer...would be deceived into thinking that the design of the infringing products was the same as the Parlux design," according to the complaint, which accused Genesis of engaging in unfair competition, trade dress infringement and trademark dilution in violation of the Lanham Act.
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