Nirvana Sues Marc Jacobs, Retailers Over Smiley Face Logo

Marc Jacobs International LLC is ripping off Nirvana’s “smiley face” logo, according to a lawsuit the band filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The acclaimed rock band accuses Marc Jacobs, as well as retailers Saks Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Ltd., of selling clothing with a logo that is “obviously similar to, and an intentional copy of” Nirvana’s smiley face.

Nirvana has copyrighted and used its logo, designed by late frontman Kurt Cobain, since the early 1990s, according to the complaint.

Marc Jacobs uses a “virtually identical” logo on items of its ...