JaguarShoes v Jaguar Cars

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

CORPORATE GIANT APPLY PRESSURE TO INDEPENDENT LONDON ARTS COLLECTIVE 

Automotive giant Jaguar / Land Rover has launched legal proceedings at the Trademarks Registry against the East London arts collective and bar, Jaguar Shoes.

Filing in opposition to their trademark application, car manufacturer, Jaguar claim that their reputation should be allowed to prevent the bar and arts organisation from protecting the name ‘Jaguar Shoes’, even in the arena of restaurants, bar, nightclub and gallery/design services.

Jaguar Shoes is a long-standing Shoreditch landmark and a brand that has become synonymous with creative East London; it features in the biggest Adidas UK TV campaign to date, a 60 second advert for the Olympics 2012 that aims to encourage creativity in British youth. This is a philosophy Jaguar Shoes has promoted since its inception in 2001.

The popular cafe bar & gallery has promoted over 600 talents in art, music and fashion via it’s venues and exhibitions and since it’s launch has been the recipient of much support from the media. Patrons have included Julian Barratt & Noel Fielding (The Mighty Boosh), Alexa Chung and Lauren Laverne, as well as international celebrities like Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst & Jason Leigh.

Musicians including Amy Winehouse, The Klaxons, Bobby Gillespie, Kylie Minogue, Chris Martin and Paloma Faith have been seen at JaguarShoes, while Just Jack and the Kaiser Chiefs have paid homage to the venue in their lyrics.


“This is a point of principle for us and we will do whatever it takes to preserve the name and reputation of Jaguar Shoes…the big corporates are perfectly within their rights to seek to preserve their legitimate rights, but this just amounts to irrational and inappropriate pressure which seems to us to be designed to keep the lawyers in business rather than any proper concern from Jaguar Cars to defend its brand.”

- Nick Letchford, co-owner and founder of JaguarShoes

Despite the varying fortunes of Shoreditch and ‘hipsters’ (the venue was the focal point of Vice magazine’s 2001 TOWIE parody, The Only Way Is Dalston) the popularity of JaguarShoes endures. It’s still a family business run by the brother and sister team who started the project on a £20000 personal loan, seeing no reason to spend any extra money replacing what to them seemed like a beautiful shop front, electing to leave the vintage signage that bequeathed the name Jaguar Shoes.

“We are a generation of consumers that are incredibly brand aware. JaguarShoes, the brand, is about the authenticity that exists in the vintage signage. That honesty is in everything we produce. It has taken years for us to get to this point and we have already experienced plagiarism, so we feel we need protection and that JAGUAR are being unreasonable.”

- Teresa Letchford, co-owner and founder of JaguarShoes

Jaguar’s UK website SEO description reads, “Our mission at Jaguar has been to create and build beautiful fast cars”. JaguarShoes have collaborated with many brands including Disney Buena Vista, Warner Bros, (for major film releases like Donnie Darko Kill Bill and Sin City) TOMS shoes, EASTPAK, Kettle One, Stella Artois and most recently Hemingway/HushPuppies. Brands that, as part of their marketing strategy have undertaken projects collaborating with the growing collective of ‘JaguarShoes’ artists, at their successful music and arts venues.

In view of the UK’s current financial climate, it is surprising that JAGUAR cars are not working with a young and vibrant business like JaguarShoes, who do not make or ever intend to make cars. JAGUAR are instead applying pressure by filing against a business which supports creativity, artists and the local economy.

FOR IMAGES, QUOTES AND MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

nick [at] jaguarshoes.com