Fashion brands steal ideas all the time - and it's legal

Carrie Anne Roberts' t-shirt design, and Old Navy's copy

Carrie Anne Roberts, the British designer behind the clothing brand Mère Soeur, woke up one morning earlier this month to a flood of Instagram notifications. Loyal followers had tipped her off to an Old Navy T-shirt they believed was a copy of one of her graphic tees. Old Navy was selling it for half the price of the original.

Roberts is a single mom who sells “mamamerch,” items like T-shirts, totes, and coffee mugs adorned with cheeky mom references. The shirt Old Navy copied featured the words “Raising the Future,” and Roberts created it to go along with a matching kids’ tee with the words “The Future” printed across the chest — Old Navy made knock-offs of the kids’ tee too. The “Raising the Future” shirt is one of Roberts’s best-selling products; she has sold hundreds of shirts to customers, most of whom are based in the US.

Infuriated, Roberts posted the Old Navy dupes to Instagram, lamenting about being copied by a huge brand. She received more than 800 comments of support, many from people who also left angry comments on Old Navy Instagram posts and posted negative reviews of the T-shirts on Old Navy’s website.

After days of being pelted with criticism, Old Navy pulled the shirts from its site, though they’re still available for sale in stores, and responded to Roberts via email. The company pointed out that since Roberts didn’t trademark the phrases “Raising the Future” or “The Future,” and does not have a trademark for the font or graphic design of the shirts, she has zero legal rights to them.

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