Pottery Barn Protecting Names And Images

Williams Sonoma, on behalf of subsidiary Pottery Barn, has sued an online home furnishings retailer, New Era, for trademark and copyright infringement as well as unfair competition under California law. See Williams Sonoma, Inc. v. Erika I. Almaguer Rodriguez d/b/a New Era Home Furnishings, 09-CV-5720 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 4, 2009). According to Pottery Barn's complaint, New Era is using the names and images of Pottery Barn furniture on its website. New Era did not help itself by expressly mentioning on its website that "[m]any styles sells [sic] are knock-offs of popular retail styles."