Céline Covers Itself

Céline creative director Phoebe Philo



CÉLINE has been awarded legal copyright protection for one of its most famous bag designs, the Luggage Tote, which will act as a deterrent to counterfeiters of the popular silhouette.
The Trade Dress protection - a legal term that refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging that communicate to consumers its origin - was originally applied for in 2013, reports The Fashion Law.

The Luggage Tote

The characteristics of the bag that now come under legal protection are "a three-dimensional configuration of a rectangular bag with extendable accordion-style sides, extruding parallel S wave designs on bag front, and rear, shield-shaped handle bracers designs on front and rear of bag. As placed on the front of the bag, the zipper represents the mouth of a face design in which the handle supports appear to be the eyes and the S wave designs represent the facial outline."
It's not the first time that Céline has gone down the legal route to protect its designs. Its Trapeze Bag was awarded federal trademark protection in May 2015.