Supreme Court Rules Louis Vuitton Bag Reforms Not Trademark Infringement

South Korea's Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that reforming Louis Vuitton bags into new bags or wallets does not constitute trademark infringement when done for the personal use of the bag's owner.

The Supreme Court's Second Division, presided over by Justice Kwon Young-jun, on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling that partially favored Louis Vuitton in a trademark infringement lawsuit against reform business operator A. The case was remanded to the Patent Court.

In 2022, Louis Vuitton filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against trademark infringement and damages against A, who had been disassembling Louis Vuitton bags bearing the company's trademark to create new bags and wallets.

The first and second instance courts accepted Louis Vuitton's claims, ruling that A must not manufacture reformed bags and wallets using Louis Vuitton fabric. The courts also ordered A to pay 15 million won ($10,800) in damages to Louis Vuitton. The lower court determined that A's reformed products constituted "goods" with exchange value.

The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision. "When a reform operator receives a request from a bag owner for reform intended for personal use, performs the reform accordingly, and returns the reformed product to the owner, the act of displaying a trademark on the reformed product does not in principle constitute 'use of a trademark' under trademark law, and therefore does not establish trademark infringement," the court explained.

The court added: "Reform operator A received reform requests from bag owners for their personal use, performed the reforms accordingly, and returned the reformed products to those owners. Even though registered trademarks were displayed on the reformed products, this cannot in principle be considered 'use of a trademark' under trademark law. A's reform activities do not infringe on Louis Vuitton's trademark rights."