New Thomas Pink Womenswear Lines Strain ‘Pink’ Pact with Victoria’s Secret

Victoria’s Secret and Thomas Pink are in a dispute over the scope of a 2015 trademark coexistence agreement that ended their earlier international litigation over the “PINK” mark. Victoria’s Secret argues that Thomas Pink’s use of new “PINK” marks for women’s casualwear and athleticwear sold through retailers including Fashion Nova, Charlotte Russe, and Rue21 falls outside the business contemplated by the agreement.  

Thomas Pink maintains that the agreement does not impose an express product-category restriction and has asked the Ohio federal court to dismiss or stay the case based on a provision requiring disputes to be submitted to English courts. 

Speaking to MLex, Finnegan Of Counsel Jenevieve Maerker said parties often prefer to reserve questions about future expansion rather than accept rigid restrictions from the outset. 

“It’s much easier for parties to agree to kick some disputes down the road,” she said.  “They don’t know how their businesses are going to evolve, and so they’re just going to reserve their rights.” 

The parties also dispute the significance of separate consent-to-registration agreements executed in 2024 and 2026 for particular U.S. trademark applications, including one covering women’s clothing. Thomas Pink cites those agreements as evidence that Victoria’s Secret accepted continued coexistence, while Victoria’s Secret maintains that the consents involved different stylized marks and that it did not know Thomas Pink intended to use PINK on women’s products that would directly compete with its own. Addressing consent agreements generally, Jenevieve suggests trademark owners closely examine applications covering products or services in close proximity to their own before granting consent. 

“If you’re looking at an application that covers goods that are relevant, that are closer than you would want them to be to your goods, dig into that in the context of negotiating that consent agreement,” she added. 

Related proceedings are also underway in the UK, where the High Court has been asked to address the parties’ rights under the 2015 agreement and whether Victoria’s Secret breached the settlement by filing its Ohio action.  

Jenevieve said whatever the High Court decides, she views the case as a good reminder to trademark owners on the need to draft for commercial change and keep testing the assumptions built into a coexistence agreement. “You have to really work hard to be future-thinking and future-proof,” she explained, “and you have to continue to monitor.” 

“When one party decides that they want to shift their focus, that’s when you run into trouble,” she added. 

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