Samsung partners with wrong Supreme brand

Samsung recently partnered with a fake streetwear brand, and it is now considering walking back its announcement after disapproval by streetwear enthusiasts online.

The Korean phone-maker is getting flak after announcing its partnership with streetwear label Supreme in China. It said the clothing brand it would launch in retail stores in China for the first time starting next year, with Samsung as its first major partner.

But the tie-up involves Supreme Italia, a "legal fake" in Italy that manages to exist due to some intellectual property law loopholes. The original Supreme brand, founded in 1994 in New York, is famous for selling products with its recognisable logo in a box.

Due to a quirk of trademark law, or an oversight on the original Supreme's part, the brand was never registered in a few locations, including Italy.

A company based in the town of Barletta in Italy took advantage of this and proceeded to register the domestic trademark for itself and sell "legal fake" goods that look a lot like the original Supreme. Supreme Barletta / Supreme Italia is one of several "legal fake" businesses that occupy a grey area of intellectual property law. Although they are copying the design and logos of the original Supreme, they have registered trademarks and are considered legal under local law.

Samsung China's digital marketing manager Leo Lau initially defended the partnership, but after criticism by Weibo users, the company has officially announced it was "re-evaluating" its position on the deal.

The original Supreme brand has said it did not enter into any collaboration with Samsung and it called the claims “blatantly false.”

Positioned higher than the plethora of cheap Supreme knockoffs from China, Supreme Italia products are almost identical to the originals, with the exception of a supposedly larger box and a slightly different stitching in the font. We have difficulty distinguishing between real and fake Supreme products, despite reading guides online on how to do it.

This lesson is one we often mention here at PitchMark: Creators should take this as a reminder to protect their intellectual property. Supreme did not register its brand in Italy, which led to the creation of a competitor who took sales away from the company, and is still doing it.

By partnering with an inauthentic brand, Samsung is receiving a lot of criticism which in turn brings down the perception of their brand. But then the original Supreme is based on not an entirely original idea either – the billion-dollar brand is known for stealing its iconic box logo and type from artist Barbara Kruger. Kruger never sued Supreme.