If you think your local Target is beginning to resemble a Pottery Barn, it may not be your imagination. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports on a new lawsuit, and others over the years, that accuse Target of copying other retailers’ products:
Williams-Sonoma, which operates Pottery Barn and other chains, claims in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that a quilted Christmas stocking sold at Target stores contains “every distinctive element of the Pottery Barn Christmas stockings,” right down to the snowflakes and blue sky.
More pointedly, the company says the stocking infringement is part of a “longstanding pattern of copying by Target of [Williams-Sonoma] designs for rugs, linens, tableware, furniture, lamps and other products.”