The cover for Lürzer’s 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide featuring Cuban artist Edel Rodriguez's (no relation) portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong wearing Louis Vuitton caught my eye today at the bookstore. Rodriguez's image was originally published as the cover for the June 27, 2005 issue of TIME Magazine, which resulted in a letter to the editor from the president of Louis Vuitton who complained:
We were surprised to see that the cover of your June 27, 2005, issue used a reproduction of our historic and highly recognizable registered trademark, the Louis Vuitton Monogram Pattern, without our knowledge or permission. Such use is likely to lead your readers to the mistaken impression that you are authorized to do so or that Louis Vuitton Malletier was involved in some way in its publication. The use of the monogram presents the potential for significant dilution of one of our core intellectual-property rights and is all the more of concern since it also appears on your website. Importantly, this use of our trademark in connection with an iconic Chinese figure [Chairman Mao] could damage the long-established relationship we have carefully built with China and its people since the opening in 1992 of the first Louis Vuitton store in Beijing.