Condé Nast Sues Indie Dog Fashion Magazine Dogue Over Trademark Infringement

Condé Nast filed a federal trademark-infringement lawsuit in December against Dogue, a Los Angeles-based dog-fashion magazine run by one editor and six volunteers, demanding that every copy of the publication be destroyed and its trademark application be denied.

The suit, filed by Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Dogue's name, logo, and overall presentation were deliberately designed to mimic Vogue and create consumer confusion. The complaint argues that the defendant's "deliberate choice of a confusingly similar mark is obviously intended to, and likely to, result in consumer confusion that Condé Nast has endorsed or is affiliated with Defendant's publication and in unwanted association with Vogue." Condé Nast also stated it tried to resolve the matter out of court before filing, but Dogue would not comply.

The scale difference between the two publications is striking. Vogue, which launched in 1892 and claims 27 million readers per month across formats, carries a U.S. monthly print circulation of approximately 1.2 million, with single issues priced at $12 and digital subscriptions running $12 to $36 annually. Dogue, described in the New York Post as filled with "photos of four-legged fashionistas" mimicking Vogue's layout and style, is available free online and sells for $25 at a single Beverly Hills newsstand.

Olga Portnaya, the founder and editor-in-chief of Dogue and sole proprietor of Tasty Work, LLC, which owns the Dogue trademarks, did not comply when Condé Nast sent a cease-and-desist letter. She claims to have filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2022, predating what she describes as Condé Nast's own entry into the dog-content space. "Art and culture have always evolved through reinterpretation and dialogue," Portnaya said. In a statement sent through People, she said she hoped to fight the lawsuit on behalf of independent artists, with Tasty Work maintaining it holds prior rights in the Dogue mark in the dog fashion media space.

The reverse-confusion argument Portnaya raises has some factual grounding: Vogue published its own celebrity dogs feature in 2024 using the same name as the magazine it is now suing. Portnaya argues that Condé Nast's subsequent use of "Dogue" for its own dog-related content "raised questions of reverse confusion and marketplace overlap" and that the publisher's claims "do not reflect the reality of how Dogue was created or how the brand has operated."

Dogue's lawyer has said he does not think anyone would have trouble seeing the difference between the two publications. Portnaya is now raising money for legal fees on GoFundMe. Condé Nast did not respond to requests for comment.

Beyond the shutdown and trademark denial, Condé Nast is seeking punitive and compensatory damages, as well as destruction of all Dogue publications and merchandise bearing the name and logo. For a magazine assembled by six volunteers and sold at one newsstand, the legal costs alone may prove more decisive than any court ruling.