The lawsuits accuse the brands of using similar design elements that risk customer confusion and can cause harm to the Levi’s brand. The suits seek to stop the brands from using elements that look like the Levi’s tab, and also ask the defendants to turn over the allegedly infringing products and associated materials.
Then on Wednesday, Levi’s filed its quarterly earnings report, which shows a “Legal Settlement Gain” of $33 million during the first six months of 2026 ending May 31. While it’s unclear which company or companies this may come from, a footnote says “during the six months ended May 31, 2026, the company recognized a gain related to a trademark infringement legal settlement.”
Naresh Kilaru, a partner and the head of trademark practice at law firm Finnegan, said it’s not uncommon for legacy brands like Levi’s to use trademark law to defend their designs. But it can be a challenge to enforce, which is partly why Levi’s has been fairly aggressive in enforcing its tab trademark.
“Those types of site identification trademarks are very difficult to enforce unless you do it regularly,” he said. “It’s been part of a broader enforcement program that Levi’s has had in place for decades to really make sure that it is the exclusive, or near-exclusive, user of that particular design, because once you allow one third-party to use a tab or don’t enforce against it, then that potentially opens the door for others to do it.”