Tattoo Artist Draws Line in Court Over Designs

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Christian Audigier Inc., the Culver City apparel company known for decorating his expensive clothing with distinctive graphics, is facing an injunction against items in its Ed Hardy line, named for a tattoo artist.

On Feb. 2, a U.S. district court judge barred Audigier from manufacturing or selling any Ed Hardy product that contains the artwork of Bryan Callan, another tattoo artist. Callan claims he licensed his artwork for use only in the Christian Audigier line, not in the Ed Hardy line.

Judge George Wu issued the injunction as a result of a federal lawsuit filed in December by Callan against Audigier. The suit alleged that Audigier failed to include Callan’s logo in violation of the license agreement, and that Callan’s work was improperly used in the Ed Hardy line.

“Not only is it failing to give credit to Mr. Callan, but it’s also misattributing his artwork to a competitor,” said Scott Burroughs of Culver City firm Doniger Law Firm APC, who is representing Callan. “The artist provided his artwork in good faith to get some exposure in the fashion industry, but in the end he didn’t get the benefit of the bargain.”

A counterclaim filed last month by Audigier denies any infringement or breach of contract.

Burroughs declined to comment on Audigier’s counterclaim.

Audigier’s attorney, Karen Weil of Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, did not return a call for comment.


Prix Fixe Extension

Restaurant Week was scheduled for two weeks. Now it’s going to last all month.

More than 120 of the 175 restaurants that took part in the Dine LA Restaurant Week promotion earlier this month have decided to continue offering fixed-price meals through the end of February. And one big-name newcomer Bazaar by Jose Andres at Sam Nazarian’s SLS Hotel will be offering them indefinitely.

“Restaurant Week gave people the willingness to go out because they’re concerned with how much they’re going to spend,” Andres said. “If people like the menu, why not keep offering it?”

Restaurant Week was originally scheduled for the last week of January and the first week of February.

Participating restaurants offer a multi-course meal at bargain prices. Lunches cost $16, $22 or $28, and dinners are $26, $34 or $44, depending on the restaurant. The Bazaar’s prix fixe menu is in the highest tier.

Dine LA is a marketing collaboration between LA Inc., the city’s convention bureau, and American Express.


Hotel Wages

The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a group that advocates higher wages for the working poor, has released a study on downtown Long Beach hotels that says their workers are underpaid compared with counterparts in other areas in the region.

The report contends that Long Beach hotels should pay workers more because the hotels have benefited from millions in city subsidies over the last 20 years to induce economic development.

“Subsidies aren’t bad,” said Jasleen Kohli, lead author of the report. “We’re just calling on the hospitality industry to be a responsible partner. The hotels have benefited from public monies, and we want to make sure workers get their fair return.”

A previous alliance study of Los Angeles International Airport-area hotels prompted a fierce battle over the city of L.A.’s living wage ordinance. To settle the conflict, the hotels agreed to pay a living wage and adjusted back wages, except for Hilton. The hotel attempted to overturn the city’s ordinance, but was unsuccessful.

A call for comment to the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, with members from across the county, was not returned.


News and Notes

Two L.A.-area restaurants West Hollywood’s Il Sole and Luau in Beverly Hills recently introduced special “recession cocktails,” with prices changing daily based on the Dow Jones industrial average. Using a base price of $14, the daily price will be calculated by subtracting the percent change in the Dow from a year prior. Nightlife mogul Sam Nazarian’s popular Hollywood lounge S Bar closed last week because of noise problems. Owners of condos in the building where S Bar is on the ground floor filed a lawsuit last summer against Nazarian’s company SBE Entertainment Group, complaining about the din from the nightspot. The company said it took soundproofing measures, but that wasn’t enough. SBE is looking for another space for S Bar. American Apparel has closed the California Select store in Echo Park, its only stand-alone U.S. location for vintage clothing, and is moving the concept into the American Apparel store next door. The chain’s California Select concept follows the store-within-store model at other locations. The company will keep its stand-alone California Select store in Berlin open.


Staff reporter Maya Meinert can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 228.

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