Steve Lesnard: Lawsuits and Predatory Business Practices 2023
Steve Lesnard is Sephora’s global chief brand officer. However, he is facing allegations of copyright infringement and predatory business practices.
The man is a shady business executive who doesn’t hesitate to steal other people’s work.
Recently, he faced allegations of stealing the work of notable graffiti artist, Futura.
Because of Steve Lesnard, his employer had to face a lawsuit for unfair competition. Learn more about the case below:
About Steve Lesnard: What He Claims to Be:
Steve Lesnard has just been named Sephora’s global chief brand officer. Lesnard’s current position at Sephora will primarily focus on enhancing the company’s reputation and increasing consumer appeal while also advancing the company’s plans for international expansion and omnichannel customer experience.
Lesnard previously held the positions of global vice president and general manager of the running division for one of the biggest sports companies in the world, where he pioneered innovations that changed the industry and helped the firm generate $5.3 billion in revenue.
Lesnard started his career spanning over two decades at a different large athletic brand in 1997 as their Global Sports Marketing and Footwear Project Manager, where he signed and provided services for the American and Canadian snowboard teams for the 1998 Winter Olympics which also included the first two men to ever win gold medals for snowboarding.
In his latter positions, Lesnard made the company’s running segment, which generated $5.3 billion in yearly global revenue, the division with the fastest three-year growth rate. He introduced products including Lunar, the Vaporfly4% shoe, and the Vapormax & React Innovations with an innovation-driven, mobile-first strategy. He also built a strategic collaboration with Apple and increased the brand’s online running community from 500,000 to over 7 million members.
Steve Lesnard: Unfair Competition and Lawsuits- About North Face
The North Face a VF Corporation brand, is the premier exploration company in the world. Founded in the counterculture of Berkeley, CA in 1966. The North Face delivers an extensive line of performance apparel, equipment, and footwear.
The North Face, a VF Corporation is one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear, and accessories companies connecting people to the lifestyles, activities, and experiences they cherish most through a family of iconic outdoor, active, and workwear brands including Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies.. VF’s purpose is to power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet.
Steve Lesnard: Unfair Competition and Lawsuits- About Sephora
With approximately 340 brands and its private label, Sephora Collection, Sephora is a French international retailer of personal care and beauty items. Sephora’s product selection includes cosmetics, skincare, body care, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body lotions, and haircare.
When Futura Won Against Steve Lesnard and His Army of Lawyers
The war between Futura and North Face CMO Steve Lesnard
In a big win for Futura, his claim against The North Face for uncompetitive and unfair competition continues. The North Face has lost its motion to dismiss this unfair competition claim claimed by Futura, paving the way for Futura to proceed against TNF
Last summer, after Futura’s trademark infringement litigation against The North Face, took a terrible turn, the artist opened up to the world and shared his struggles. The strategy first appeared to be successful as The North Face appeared to stop using the disputed FUTURELIGHT logo, a swirling graphic design that looks very similar to the graffiti artist’s signature “atom” illustration.
A statement posted by North Face on its website- “The North Face, as well as [parent company] VF Corporation and its family of brands, are home to and partners of many incredibly talented artists. We have great respect for artistic individuality, expression, and intellectual property, and would never want an artist to feel otherwise,”.
“This includes the recent unfortunate situation involving Futura, an artist we hold in high esteem.”
Last summer, after Futura’s trademark infringement litigation against The North Face, took a terrible turn, the artist opened up to the world and shared his struggles. The strategy first appeared to be successful as The North Face appeared to stop using the disputed FUTURELIGHT logo, a whirling visual that is very similar to the graffiti artist’s famous “atom” depiction.
Futura’s lawyer Jeff Gluck words in an email- “If [The North Face wins], this means that Futura has no legal protection for his work, he loses everything he has built up for the past 40 years, and brands would be able to use his signature logo without any recourse,” .”We asked TNF to withdraw their motion yesterday because of what is at stake. They refused. If they aren’t going to use FUTURELIGHT anymore, why would they need to proceed with a legal motion that could destroy Futura’s entire legacy?”.
In a nutshell, “TNF cannot say that they respect Futura while simultaneously filing a legal motion seeking to invalidate his entire legacy.”
Despite his client’s recent “huge triumph,” Gluck claimed the legal struggle is “far from done.”
A month later, on August 27, The North Face “lost its request to dismiss Futura’s unfair competition suit,” Gluck told Highsnobiety. The North Face was still attempting to have Futura’s trademark declared invalid in court as of late July.
Leaving here, “The next stage of the legal dispute has begun. The North Face persists in opposing and threatening Futura’s legal protection and making legal claims that infringe on the rights of creators, defying the interests of the world’s artists.”
About Leonard McGurr
Futura, a popular moniker for the American graffiti artist Futura 2000, was born Leonard Hilton McGurr on November 17, 1955. He started painting illegally on the New York City subway in the early 1970s, working with other artists like ALI. During his time in the US Navy from 1974 to 1978, he took many trips. He shared a show at the Fun Gallery with Patti Astor, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Hambleton, and Kenny Scharf in the early 1980s.
For the 1981 European tour of the British punk music band The Clash, Futura painted backdrops live onstage. With Speedy Graphito, Miss Tic, SP 38, Epsylon Point, Blek le Rat, Jef Aérosol, Nuklé-Art, Kim Prisu, and Banlieue-Banlieue, he participated in the inaugural meeting of the graffiti and urban art movement in Bondy (France) in 1985, which was organized by the VLP. He is now a well-known graphic designer and gallery artist.
Did You Know?
VLP stands for vector layer painting. VLP is a technique that uses vector graphics to make digital paintings. The vectors are collection of mathematical shapes and curves, and are not associated with pixels.
One of Futura’s most distinctive features is the use of abstract graffiti. Futura was a pioneer of abstract street art, which has since grown in popularity, while the majority of graffiti artists in the 1980s focused mostly on letters. His aerosol strokes, however, are distinguished from those of his contemporaries because they are as thin as the delicate lines frequently associated with the use of an airbrush.
Steve Lesnard’s Controversy: About Highsnobiety
David Fischer started Highsnobiety in 2005. It is a leading worldwide media company covering fashion and culture. In 2022, German e-commerce behemoth Zalando purchased it. Berlin serves as the company’s headquarters, and offices are also located in Amsterdam, London, Milan, New York, Los Angeles, and Sydney.
Highsnobiety has a multichannel presence and a digital-first publishing strategy. In 2010, the print magazine made its debut, publishing editions every quarter all over the world.
A multi-brand online fashion and lifestyle boutique called Highsnobiety Shop was established in 2019. In 2021, Highsnobiety debuted its clothing line.
Steve Lesnard’s Alleged Crime: What is copyright infringement litigation
Thus, copyright infringement means the unauthorized use of someone’s copyrighted work for a profit. It results in the infringement of certain rights of the copyright holder, such as the right to distribute, reproduce, perform, or display the protected work. For example, Modifying an image and then displaying it on your company’s website. The authors/copyright owners can take legal action against a person or entity infringing their copyrighted works. The copyright owner can file a civil case in a court having jurisdiction and is entitled to remedies by way of damages, injunctions, and accounts. Thus North Face has to face the consequences of Futura’s trademark infringement litigation against them.
