Houston Business & Commercial Law Blog

Canvas sneakers are popular casual footwear in Texas and across the country. This has helped lead to an intellectual property dispute between a shoe manufacturer and a major retail giant. Vans is suing Target in California, alleging that the discount department store's Carmella Lace-Up sneaker infringes on its trademarks for the Old Skool sneaker silhouette. The footwear company said that the appearance of the product is likely to create confusion among consumers about what they are buying.

As part of the lawsuit, Vans cited customer reviews on the Target website, some of which referred to the sneakers as "fake Vans." Vans also said that the retailer is trying to benefit from the popularity of its shoes and to use Vans' reputation to promote a larger line of its own products, called Wild Fable. The specific Carmella sneakers are a part of this collection. While the Target sneakers, made of polyester and polyurethane, retail for $15, the Vans version are made of suede and canvas with a signature waffle-patterned sole. These shoes sell for $60 online and in stores.

There were over 53,000 personal injury cases filed throughout Texas and the rest of the United States in 2017. While this is down from more than 76,000 in 2014, it is still important for property owners to take steps to prepare for a possible legal claim. In some cases, property owners are named as defendants in premises liability cases even if they weren't the ones who caused the accident to happen.

One reason why property owners may be sued is because they have insurance to cover the expense of the claim. However, it is important that those who own commercial real estate have the proper kind of coverage. Ideally, those who own retail or other types of buildings will purchase premises liability coverage. Prior to buying a specific policy, it is important to review available options to avoid purchasing coverage that has too many exclusions or other loopholes.

Potential investors in Texas may be particularly interested in the commercial real estate market, especially as the National Association of Realtors reported that the industry had grown over the past year. In its 2018 report, NAR said that its members who dealt with the market had reported increased sales volume and gross income. The survey included real estate agents who focus their business on commercial projects, including sales, leasing and land development in office, industrial, retail and multifamily spaces.

The president of the association said that the commercial real estate industry is rising with the economy. He noted that there has been a slight decrease in transactions, but volume of sales and the prices involved had increased over the past year, leading to a rise in median gross income over the year. He also noted that professionals reported increased interest in their offerings and growth in their business activity. Tightened inventory was reportedly the reason for the smaller number of transactions, which declined from an average of eight per member in 2016 to seven in 2017.

Contract disputes can be an ongoing fact of life for many Texas businesses, but they can also embroil major celebrities. Movie star Sarah Jessica Parker is engaged in an ongoing legal dispute with a jewelry company that is accusing her of breaking an agreement to endorse the company's products. Kate Florence Design has also accused the actress of refusing to return jewelry provided under the contract.

The former "Sex and the City" star allegedly agreed to license the use of her name and appearance for a line of jewelry. The line was under creation by Kate Florence Design. Parker would reportedly receive $7,500,000 in payment for the use of her image to market the jewelry line. However, the company says that Parker failed to live up to her contractual agreements, causing the line to fail. The celebrity is accused of refusing to engage in interviews about the product or make appearances to promote the jewelry. The company also alleged that the actress failed to return $150,000 in borrowed jewelry.