I have to give it to BuzzFeed for doing some research, reaching out to some sources and posting an article on design patents. This form of intellectual property is not a heavily covered topic when it comes to fashion publications, and so, props for charting relatively unknown territory. However, “Lululemon Is The Fashion Industry’s Biggest Patent Troll“? Not so fast. In fact, not only is Lululemon NOT The Fashion Industry’s Biggest Patent Troll, Lululemon is not actually a patent troll at all. Yes, Lululemon has an arsenal of design patents and yes, it enforces its patent rights against infringing parties, but that does not make it a patent troll. That makes it a diligent patent holder. Please read on, it gets so much better …

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Gucci has been slapped with a class action lawsuit, which alleges that the Italian design house fails to adequately compensate its employees. The complaint, which was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California in Los Angeles by Janine Oda and Gissella Velasquez, on behalf of themselves and other unnamed employees who have worked at the brand’s California retail locations, alleges that Gucci failed to pay minimum and overtime wages, and failed to provide employees with rest and meal periods, in addition to an array of other violations of the California Labor Code and the California Business and Professions Code. The two named plaintiffs, who worked at Gucci’s Beverly Hills location, claim that there are more than 75 other employees that have been subjected to Gucci’s illegal employment practices.

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Made in the USA Brand, LLC, a non-government entity that provides a “Made in USA” certification to United States-based brands, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges, according to our friends over at Racked. The FTC, an governmental body tasked with preventing fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices, charged Made in the USA Brand with deceiving consumers by allowing companies to use the seal without independently verifying that those companies’ products were actually made in the United States. The Columbus, Ohio-based brand’s business involved charging companies to use its certification mark and to be listed in a database of “certified” companies that comply with the FTC’s standard, which requires that products advertised or labeled as “Made in the USA” must be “all or virtually all” made in the United States. In fact, the FTC charged that Made in the USA Brand has never rejected a company’s application to use its Certification Mark or terminated a company’s use of the mark. Instead, Made in the USA Brand, LLC awarded licenses to any company that self-certified that it was complying with the FTC’s standard. The two parties agreed to settle the claims today, according to a FTC release.