Christian Dior Accuses Gigi Dior of Trademark Dilution

LOS ANGELES—An ongoing trademark dispute between adult star Gigi Dior and the French luxury fashion house Christian Dior (or, simply, Dior) has reached a new chapter, according to a July 18 filing reviewed by AVN. Now, the luxury brand, which is owned by a parent company controlled and chaired by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, has accused the popular MILF performer Gigi Dior of trademark dilution—the act of confusing the public's perception of a famous mark. Dior argues that the use of its brand name by Gigi Dior violates federal trademark dilution statutes.  Gigi Dior and the company she operates that encompasses her adult industry work filed an application in October 2021 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to register her stage name as a service mark. In the United States, a service mark is a type of trademark that identifies a service rather than a product or line of products. In October 2022, Dior filed a notice of opposition with the PTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Dior argued that Gigi Dior infringes on its rights due to the fact that it has established "valuable goodwill" with its customers due to "substantial sales and extensive advertising and promotion." Central to Dior's arguments is that it believes that consumers could incorrectly connect Gigi Dior, her work as an adult industry performer, and her potential service mark as being connected to the fashion house.  By accusing Gigi Dior of trademark dilution, Dior has doubled down on the claim that it will likely face ridicule and that Gigi Dior cannot justify her service mark under the First Amendment right of parody or other similar defenses. “The record illustrates that ... [Gigi Dior] ... intentionally uses the GIGI DIOR mark to create an association with Dior and the DIOR marks,” Dior's counsel argued in its July 18 filing to the TTAB. The filing cites the Rogers test as justification. In case law, the Rogers test is a means that the First Amendment provides protection to artistically expressive uses of trademarks or uses that are artistic in nature. A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 limited that test, the fashion house's attorneys argue, pointing to how Gigi Dior's application for a service mark “does not apply where the accused trademark is used as a designation of source.” "[The owners] of the Dior mark have a strong argument as to why the mark Gigi Dior shouldn’t be registered," adult industry attorney Michael Fattorosi told AVN. Fattorosi deals with trademark registration in the adult space.  "Dilution has always been an argument against the registration of a known famous mark in adult," he explained. "I’ve seen prior cases such as this. Gigi Dior has one argument in her favor—she claims that there has been no consumer confusion between her use of Dior and the registered Dior marks. However, I doubt that will hold much weight in front of the [TTAB]." Gigi Dior declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing litigation. Since her industry debut, Gigi Dior has appeared in dozens of adult scenes. She is also an independent content creator for platforms like OnlyFans and is represented by Nexxxt Level Talent Agency.