Woolies slips up on slip-ons
Retail giant Woolworths might have stepped on a few toes by selling slippers featuring a famed 1960s design — to which it might not have bought the rights.
The print on the Woolies slippers — recently on sale in stores countrywide — closely resembles the famous Unikko poppy pattern, designed in the 1960s by Maija Isola for Finnish design company Marimekko.
Clothing, linen and handbags featuring the Unikko print sell in high-end boutiques worldwide.
A metre of the fabric costs about R500.
Times blogger Nachama Brodie recently spotted the item on clothing racks and raised questions about the copyright of the exclusive print. The slippers were priced between R60 and R120.
Woolworths admitted that it has not been able to confirm that it has acquired the rights to use the pattern for what Brodie describes as the “cheap-as-chips, made in China” slippers.
The slippers have been removed from stores until Woolworths can determine their origin.
“Woolworths is investigating the matter and will [respond] once the investigation is concluded,” said a spokesman.
The company said that “going back a few months in both Woolworths' and the supplier's paperwork takes time.
“The retailer's only real recourse is to remove the product from the Woolworths shop floors countrywide, which is exactly what they have done.”
But that is unsatisfactory, said Brodie, who suspects that, judging from the price tag on the slippers, Woolworths has not got the right to use the pattern on its products.
“Infringement of copyright is a big deal to me as a shopper,” she said. “I wouldn't buy copies of designer items just because they're cheap. Woolworths ... should know better.
Buyers and designers for the company should be able to recognise iconic designs, especially because, as the Marimekko website claims, Unikko is more popular than ever,” she said.
Source: The Times
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