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APPAREL: Quiksilver, rival both claim qualified wins; back to 2004
A long, drawn-out fight over the "Roxy" name between Quiksilver Inc. and a small Los Angeles clothing maker has ended pretty much where it was six years ago, with both sides claiming a qualified victory.
A federal appeals court recently reversed a 2008 ban that prevented Kymsta Corp. from selling clothes under its Roxywear line because it conflicted with Huntington Beachbased Quiksilver 's Roxy clothes for teen girls and young women.
In lifting the ban, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated more limited restrictions on Kymsta's use of Roxywear, similar to a 2004 injunction.
Both sides appear set to let the case rest with the appeals court decision. Resentment still lingers in both camps after an eight-year battle. But Quiksilver and Kymsta said they are happy with the outcome.
Quiksilver lost a complete ban on Kymsta's use of Roxywear but said it still came out ahead.
While the company had welcomed the ban, it said it never sought to completely bar Kymsta from using the name. Instead, it wanted limited restrictions on Kymsta.
"This case has always been about establishing and protecting Quiksilver's rights to Roxy," said Mike Yoder, partner at the Newport Beach office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP and who represented Quiksilver. "For Quiksilver, this was never about money. They've never sought damages from Kymsta."
The ruling also has plusses and minuses for Kymsta. it got a potentially crippling ban lifted but now has to live with curbs on its brand.
Kymsta "wanted the right to use the...