Costco
location
(by
Stu
pendousmat
via
Wikimedia)
Any
Costco
member
knows
that
the
store
offers
more
than
a
$1.50
hotdog
and
soda
special
and
rotisserie
chickens.
They
also
offer
quality
products
that
seem
very
similar
to
namebrand
goods
sold
at
a
much
higher
markup.
Who
hasn’t
heard
the
rumor
that
Costco’s
Kirkland
vodka
is
comparable
to
(if
not
better
than)
Grey
Goose
or
that
Kirkland
golf
balls
can
compete
with
Pro
V1s.
While
some
of
these
product
comparisons
send
members
running
to
Costco,
they
also
run
the
risk
of
Costco
being
taken
to
court.
Lululemon,
known
for
athleisure
wear
and
deliberately
being
named
in
a
way
that
makes
it
difficult
for
Japanese
speakers
to
pronounce,
is
taking
Costco
to
court
for
allegedly
ripping
off
their
IP.
Lululemon
Athletica
Inc.
is
accusing
Costco
Wholesale
Corp.
of
copying
its
apparel
designs
in
a
lawsuit
—
and
the
upscale
sportswear
company
shared
images
with
the
court
to
back
up
its
case…Lululemon
is
arguing
that
the
products
sold
at
Costco
entirely
replicate
the
design
of
their
apparel,
highlighting
silhouettes,
seamlines
and
accents
trademarked
by
Lululemon
in
the
visual
comparisons
provided
to
the
court.
Here’s
a
product
side
by
side
for
example:
Do
Costco
pants
have
some
special
anti-wrinkle
technology
going
on
in
the
fabric
or
is
Lululemon
just
terrible
at
picking
comparison
pictures?
Whatever
Lulu
representative
went
to
their
nearest
Costco
to
photograph
the
competition
should
have
bought
a
three
pack
of
irons
to
get
the
creases
out
of
the
pants
on
the
left.
While
we’re
on
the
topic
of
comparison
and
marketing,
this
lawsuit
runs
the
risk
of
adding
cash
to
the
Costco
coffers:
Costco
has
yet
to
respond,
but
they
generally
aren’t
ones
to
back
down.
While
I
doubt
they’ll
go
full
Steve
Madden…
Costco
will
probably
put
up
a
good
fight.
Don’t
get
me
wrong
—
it
is
generally
a
good
idea
to
defend
your
IP.
But
if
you
lose
the
suit
and
it
gets
out
that
your
competitor
is
selling
a
superior
product
at
a
much
lower
price,
you
may
have
been
better
off
resting
on
your
prestige
than
rooting
out
copycats.
Because
let’s
be
real
—
if
your
customer
base
is
already
caught
up
in
the
hype
of
Lululemon
and
its
product
peers
in
the
premium
athleisure
lifestyle,
they
aren’t
dismounting
their
Peleton
to
go
shop
at
Costco.
But
they
may
jump
ship
if
your
company
losing
big
in
court
starts
to
make
headlines.
Lululemon
Gets
Aggressive
About
Lookalikes
With
Costco
Lawsuit
[Insurance
Journal]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.