By JENNIFER FERMINO
Last updated: 8:16 am
June 26, 2008
Posted: 3:23 am
June 26, 2008
A SoHo scion of rug royalty is blasting the corporate carpet makers at Pottery Barn and West Elm for allegedly stealing her designs and shilling "virtually indistinguishable" floor coverings.
Madeline Weinrib, the great granddaughter of the founder of ABC Carpet & Home, is suing the chains along with their parent company, Williams-Sonoma, for copyright infringement.
Weinrib claims Pottery Barn is hawking a "Moorish Tile Rug" in its April 2008 catalog and on its Web site that looks too much like her Brooke Carpet design, which she created in 2005.
She also alleges that West Elm, Pottery Barn's lower-cost corporate cousin, advertised a "Taksim Tile Rug" in its catalog and Web site, according to the lawsuit filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court.
"Defendants, by their acts described above, have taken advantage of the knowledge and skill of the plaintiff and of the good will developed by Plaintiff," the lawsuit says.
She wants the companies to immediately stop selling the rugs and hand over their profits, as well as damages to be determined at trial.
She said she sold her designs on her Web site and in ABC, where she has a sixth-floor studio to showcase her work.
Calls to Williams-Sonoma for comment were not returned.
