Mies van der Rohe Furniture Designs causes legal catfight

In one corner you have Knoll Inc. In the other corner you have Alphaville Design. And in the middle you have Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Barcelona furniture designs from the 1920s.
The trouble started when Knoll sued Danrick LLC, dba ModernCollection.com last July in New York because the contract furniture maker claims exclusive trademark rights to the Barcelona chair design. Alphaville Designs joined in the court battle with its customer Danrick and the suit was dismissed in January.
Now, Alphaville Designs has filed a declaratory relief lawsuit against Knoll in San Francisco. Alphaville Design's lawsuit seeks to overturn Knoll's trade dress claims that it has exclusive rights to the 1920's Mies van der Rohe Barcelona furniture designs.
“Our case will clarify the law and show that Knoll cannot keep others from using these 1920's designs that have been made by a myriad of manufacturers for over 40 years,” says David Lee, President of Alphaville Designs. “We seek a full cancellation of Knoll's trademark registrations with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.”
I guess this proves that good design is worth fighting for. Stay tuned.