A Black Bike, Inc., a small scale bicycle distributor based in Brooklyn, New York, filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the clothing and accessories retailer Club Monaco, Inc., and Koninklijke Gazelle, alleging false advertising, unfair competition, deceptive acts and practices, and trademark and copyright infringement.

The complaint alleges that Club Monaco, a subsidiary of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, used images of A Black Bike´s bicycles as the centerpiece of its Spring 2009 advertising campaign, without A Black Bike´s authorization, and while publicly representing that the images were instead bicycles manufactured by the Dutch bicycle company Koninklijke Gazelle.

A Black Bike, founded in 2008, is owned by Muna Whitfield, a fashion model and documentary filmmaker who was born in Kenya and grew up in Holland. A Black Bike garnered significant attention towards the end of 2008, culminating in an article in the "What´s Hot" section of the December 2008 issue of Elle Décor magazine, featuring A Black Bike.

In January of 2009, following the upswing of A Black Bike´s publicity, the complaint alleges that Club Monaco purchased a bicycle from A Black Bike and discussed a national advertising campaign that would feature A Black Bike´s bicycles. Although a deal was never reached, in part because Club Monaco insisted that A Black Bike provide free bicycles for the campaign, the complaint alleges that the A Black Bike bicycle was prominently featured in Club Monaco´s Spring 2009 advertising campaign, without A Black Bike´s authorization. Furthermore, instead of crediting A Black Bike, the complaint alleges that Club Monaco confused consumers by falsely representing that the bike in the campaign was a "Gazelle," manufactured by the Dutch company, Koninklijke Gazelle, a competitor of A Black Bike.