The AL Monogram: Intellectual Property, Design, and The Art of Imitation

“If you want to be original, be ready to be copied.” — Coco Chanel

When I established my eponymous luxury fashion brand, Arlette Lee, I designed and registered the official AL trademark with an interlocking, bespoke monogram reflecting the elegance of baby alpaca.

Years later, when Addison Lee launched their major corporate rebrand across London, the visual parallels were striking enough that clients and industry peers mistook their fleet for our brand vehicles. While entirely unaffiliated, it served as a defining real-world lesson in brand identity, trademark ownership, and the inevitable flattery of design overlap.