Harry Styles Serves Suit Over Stolen Styles

Famed pop star Harry Styles takes direct cues from major clothing brands in his attempt to target fake online retailers selling Styles-style merchandise.

The pop icon on Tuesday sued a number of small online retailers who claim they sell unlicensed clothing or Styles-branded merchandise. Additionally, Styles and his attorneys said the counterfeiters all work from the same supply chain while operating under aliases to avoid detection.

If, like me, you weren’t really interested in the man beyond the excellent alliteration that comes from statements like “Styles’ Styles are being swindled,” then here’s a brief explanation. As one of my colleagues told me, Styles was “the sexiest” in One Direction troupe that turned his group performance into a successful solo career as a singer/songwriter. Since then he has gained worldwide fame and has even starred in a few films.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Chicago, argued that the counterfeiters used Harry Styles’ trademarks in metatags and content to try to get that sweet, sweet web traffic while keeping the Styles name off the products themselves. The lawsuit alleges that the counterfeiters are copying his brand’s art, as well as his public initiatives, such as his mental health-focused “Treat People With Kindness” campaign.

As stressed by billboardSuch suits often come from big private labels. Instead of referencing a bunch of actors, these suits take a long list of URLs in question without naming a specific seller to shut down a bevy of pirate sites at once. The suit does not name a specific counterfeiter, instead citing most as existing in China. The lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction against many popular marketplaces, including major platforms like eBay, Amazon, Wish.com, Walmart, Etsy and more, against the sale of counterfeit goods. Heck, you don’t have to go too far to find unofficial Styles items, including shirts and hoodies featuring his incredibly angular face.

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The lawsuit even claims the online retailers are “in constant communication with each other,” including communicating through QQ, a Chinese instant messaging service owned by Tencent. Styles’ lawyers argue that there is evidence that the online stores all use similar advertising and marketing strategies and also use the same design templates on their websites.

“The defendants actively cooperate to knowingly and intentionally manufacture, import, distribute, offer for sale and sell counterfeit products,” the lawsuit reads.

The official Style’s Merch Store includes some limited edition vinyl copies of his latest album Harry’s house as well as a range of overpriced keychains, socks, t-shirts, long sleeve shirts and hoodies. Don’t forget his Treat People With Kindness socks, based on his TPWK mental health campaign.