IT is worn from the catwalks of Milan and New York to the sporting estates of Scotland and is even protected by an Act of Parliament.
Now Harris Tweed is at the centre of a legal wrangle, after a group calling itself the Harris Tweed Society was accused of trying to get a “free ride” on the textile’s international reputation.
The Harris Tweed Authority, custodian of the trademark, is understood to have instructed its solicitors to send a lawyer’s letter after a website was set up in the name of the Harris Tweed Society, which says it has been formed to keep the legacy of the brand intact.
In a statement, the Harris Tweed Authority said: “We discovered that the Harris Tweed Society were seeking to ‘free-ride’ on the Harris Tweed name by offering such services as after-dinner speeches and organising conferences under the ‘banner’ of Harris Tweed.
“As is our normal practice in situations like this, the authority took the appropriate steps to prevent that from happening.”
The society earlier contacted The Herald to say they were being “threatened” by the Harris Tweed Authority with “demands from lawyers in Glasgow”. It said: “The society will be working in harmony with the crofters and mill owners fashion designers stockists and international key players.”
The society’s president is said to be Sir Jonathan Boyz, a business speaker and entrepreneur. No entry for him could be found in Burke’s Peerage and Gentry.
The society said it would respond to the allegations at a later date.
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