According to newspaper NZ Herald, Cooper said she was unaware a garment in her autumn/winter 2010 collection was almost identical to a piece produced by designer Markus Lupfer for Topshop in July.
The item under question was a grey jersey top which featured an embroidered pink sequin bow. It was presented as part of Cooper's latest collection at Air New Zealand Fashion Week last Wednesday.
Cooper told NZ Herald she had sourced the distinct embroidery from a long-term knitwear supplier in China, with the final product delivered to her in July. It was believed the supplier could have sold the item twice to both designers.
Cooper confirmed the garment had since been pulled from the collection. In July 2007, Cooper settled a 20 month trademark dispute with accessories designer Tamsin Cooper over the similarity in their trading names.
Patent and trademarks office IP Australia recorded 1803 trade mark oppositions in 2008/09, up from 1712 the previous year. Choy Lawyers principle Trevor Choy believed a sizeable portion of these applied to fashion brands.
Choy explained that increased competition saw brands scrutinise new trade mark applications more thoroughly, with the name, logo and slogan reviewed.
"There is a little bit of predatory branding, where people have thought, this is a sucessful brand, so instead of coming up with something completely original they sail closer to what is there," he said.