The Great Eros, a small business and lingerie brand in New York City is stuck in a legal battle that keeps going back and forth with Danielle Bernstein, a mega-influencer. According to The Great Eros, Bernstein “stole their signature tissue paper design and used it on swimwear.” It’s important to note, however, that Bernstein, “a fashion influencer with 2.5 million followers and the founder of the blog and brand WeWoreWhat, is the one who filed the first lawsuit.”

Gavel; image by Rawpixel, via Unsplash.com.

What is the latest legal scuffle between the two, though? Well, according to The Great Eros, Bernstein allegedly “ripped off the nude female line drawings used on the tissue paper the brand includes with every purchase.” However, after the company sent a draft of a lawsuit it planned to file against Bernstein, she “secretly beat the brand to the punch.” Jeff Gluck, the attorney representing The Great Eros, said:“Ms. Bernstein's lawsuit is nothing more than a crude bullying tactic intended to scare and intimidate small business owners, and it will be dismissed. The ill-advised decision to secretly sue The Great Eros has already backfired on her in spectacular fashion and we look forward to seeing her in court.”Additionally, Gluck “shared a list of more than two dozen ‘identical features’ he said experts determined exist between The Great Eros' design and WeWoreWhat's items.” As a result, he said The Great Eros is asking Bernstein to end her suit. He also noted the draft of the lawsuit the brand plans to file against Bernstein “details her visit to their showroom in 2018 and requests for products.” Additionally, the suit argues that “Bernstein has a history of copying others' designs and passing them off as her own.”Bernstein took to her Instagram account to vent about the lawsuit and said she is not seeking financial gain. She added:“A few days ago their attorney contacted us, sharing a lawsuit he intended to file this week in an attempt to push us to settle a meritless claim that we now, begrudgingly, have to fight. I want to clarify that I am ABSOLUTELY NOT seeking financial gain, what we are doing is simply asking the courts to confirm that we did not infringe on an alleged copyright.”She added that the WeWoreWhat print in question “was conceptualized and hand-drawn by my team at the end of 2018 and launched in January 2020 as part of her swim collection for that season.” She wrote:“The collection was already two seasons old and had been out in the market for months by the time their claim was made. As we all know, over the last few years, female line drawings have been a market trend. A quick Google search reveals wallpaper, shirts, bathing suits, yoga mats, and even tattoos, and it is clear everyone has had Matisse on their minds, including ShopWeWoreWhat. I personally own several female silhouette decor pieces which served as inspiration, as the theme of this collection was Home…My hope is that we, as designers and entrepreneurs, can support one another, and continue to be inspired by our collective work in the fashion industry. Thank you to all that have supported me over the years, it means the world to me.”Her comments on Instagram haven’t stopped some of her supporters from calling her out over the design similarities. 

Sources:

Small lingerie brand slams 'crude bullying' lawsuit from mega-influencerDanielle Bernstein takes legal action against lingerie brand accusing her of copying designs