Jury Hijinks Lead to Mistrial in Trovata Vs Forever 21

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Trovata's court case against Forever 21 ended in a mistrial today due to "irreconcilable differences" among jury members, reports WWD. This news comes after a day of deadlock and the whiff of a mini-scandal when some members of the group accused a fellow juror of misconduct and failing to correctly apply the law.

Part of what makes things complicated is the disconnect between specific copyright laws and the general public's sense of how a store ought to behave. It doesn't take a legal scholar to notice that Forever 21 has a habit of designing items that looks a lot like other, more expensive clothing, but copyright laws only cover prints—not construction. Trovata got around this by suing Forever 21 for something other than copyright infringement, and they might have had a chance, but the jury shenanigans pretty much ended that. Since it's a mistrial, the lawyers essentially have to start over, picking a new jury and laying out their arguments all over again. Stay tuned—this is far from over.
· Mistrial in Trovata, Forever 21 Copying Case [WWD, sub req]
· Jury Deadlocked In Trovata vs Forever 21 Trial [Racked]