Ralph Lauren, USPA Continue Legal Squabbling

The ongoing battle between Ralph Lauren Corp. and United States Polo Association entered its fourth decade with the resolution of a dispute with USPA’s Indian licensee and the continuation of a trademark case in New York. Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd., the USPA licensee, informed the Bombay Stock Exchange Monday that it had agreed to pay Ralph Lauren $3.2 million after what it termed “good faith discussions” resolved allegations that Arvind had failed to comply with a 2003 agreement calling for USPA merchandise to provide disclaimers indicating that USPA isn’t affiliated with Ralph Lauren. The settlement, reached after Judge Thomas Griesa of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sent the case back to Bangalore for arbitration before a three-judge panel. The settlement involved no admission of wrongdoing by any of the parties. Griesa cited the 2003 agreement in his decision and its requirement that trademark disputes generally revolving around similarities between Polo’s polo player logo and USPA’s “Double Horsemen Mark,” be resolved through arbitration rather than litigation and, in cases involving a licensee or sublicensee, be considered in the “principal place of business” of the licensee. Arvind Brands, a division of Arvind Ltd., became a USPA licensee in 2007 and

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