UFW has launched a national campaign to force the Ralph Lauren corporate to stop exploiting its logo for commercial purposes.
By H. Nelson Goodson
December 10, 2013
Keene, CA - This Holiday season, Ralph Lauren has dramatically slashed the price for its controversial T-shirt Thunderbird Tee Style logo wear. The t-shirt sold for $65 back about a month ago, but Ralph Lauren later offered it for just $29.50 and now it sells for a mere $14.99 on its website. The Ralph Lauren New York fashion clothing manufacturer apparently copied its logo from the United Farm Workers Organization (UFW), according to a claim made by the Cesar E. Chavez UFW organization. Ralph Lauren hasn't removed the Thunderbird Tee Style logo from its wear or website, but slumped sales and the controversy behind its logo brand has indeed affected sales and profits on this particular item.
Last November, the UFW organization announced that the New York fashion clothing designer Ralph Lauren had been exploiting its logo for several months and is a copyright infringement. The UFW wants the Ralph Lauren corporation to pull all the t-shirts depicting the UFW registered trademark black eagle logo from its shelves.
The UFW had received information by people who noticed a Ralph Lauren t-shirt with a similar UFW registered trademark black eagle logo being sold at Urban Outfitters stores for $65 each in California and attorney's representing the UFW contacted the store of its logo copyright infringement. Since then, the UFW has been in good faith discussions with Urban Outfitters for reparations and future insurance against such violations, the UFW says.
UFW attorneys had written twice to the estimated $6.5B clothing Ralph Lauren corporation in New York that they were using the UFW trademark logo without permission. In response, Ralph Lauren is claiming their Thunderbird Tee Style logo is not similar to the UFW logo and "that people would not make the connection between the eagle on the t-shirt and the UFW logo."
UFW stated that Cesar Chavez' brother Richard designed the UFW Black Eagle so that union members could easily draw it on handmade red flags. Cesar said, "A symbol is an important thing. That is why we chose an Aztec eagle. It gives pride...When people see it they know it means dignity."
Ralph Lauren's expropriation of the UFW's Black Eagle dishonors the trademark and those who have fought and died for the integrity it represents. It falsely implies the UFW may have endorsed Ralph Lauren clothing, damaging the UFW's extensive goodwill, according to the UFW.
The UFW expects to legal action against Ralph Lauren, if the clothing corporation doesn't comply and remove all their merchandise depicting the UFW black Aztec eagle from shelves. The UFW has also started a national campaign for people to contact Ralph Lauren and demand for them to pull all of their infringing products from their shelves.
To participate in the campaign, go to the UFW website link: http://alturl.com/zrqo3
