A battle in Northern California courts and in public opinion over the past two years has taken a new twist.
Last month, the U.S. District Court of Appeals overturned a U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California dismissed Tangle Inc.’s lawsuit against fashion retailer Aritzia. (Tangle, Inc. v. Aritzia, Inc., 3:23-CV-01196)
The complex controversy comes from the collection of sculptures displayed in the selected Aritzia store that look similar if not exactly the same as Tangle’s famous Fidget Toy, inspired by the work of “Tanglemaster” Richard X Zawitz.
Interviewed in 2021 Toy BookZawitz describes Tangle as the Portmanteau of “tangent angles”, a series of 90-degree curves that can contain its energy in elegant, infinite ways when twisting, turning, shaping and engraving. For decades, Entanglement has been sold in various formats as art, toys and gifts. Tangle Inc. has multiple copyrights that protect its “dynamic and actionable” sculptures, and its toy products have been influenced by counterfeits and imitators for years.
As the previous ruling was dismissed, Tangle Inc. could continue to deal with its case against Aritzia and potentially violated its protected IP.
“The Court of Appeal’s opinion has verified and proved 45 years of faith to perceive strange miracles,” said Richard X Zawitz, creator of Tangle. “The historical obstacles to tangle are growing, and the last one is the hardening of our copyright, the golden link in the tangle success story. My advice to artists, innovators and content makers in our industry: Protect your ideas /Concept and register. You won’t regret it.”
Last month’s ruling was also called victory.
“We thank the court for its careful consideration of the novel issues raised in this appeal and recognize that movable sculptures should be copyrighted,” added Matthew L. Schwartz, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and consultant for Tangle Inc. Under this decision, the Court recognized that it had been entangled and had always held valid copyrights of its sculptures and motioned along its full range. The Court’s ruling should allow artists from all over the country to comfort the law to protect their theft in any form and Creative expression of replication.”
As Aritzia Battle continues, Tangle Inc. is playing the IP “Whack-A-Mole” game, and the company sells fake entanglement products through online marketplaces. In recent years, the company has faced sellers through courts in California, Florida, Illinois and New York to produce products and trade apparel products.
Tangle case cases are a new twist, as the initial toy score victory often appears in toy books.
