The legal dispute over a Bob Mackie-labeled diffusion line at JCPenney is less than a week old, but resolution negotiations are expected to get underway soon, according to one key party.

Last week Mackie, a Los Angeles-based fashion designer that has worked with Cher, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus among other stars, took legal action against the retailer for selling a label with his name and likeness allegedly without his consent. Plugged as “Every Woman Can Be an Icon,” the Mackie: Bob Mackie line is currently being sold online at JCP with discounts of 50 percent for some items. Styles can also be found in dozens of JCPenney stores nationwide.

In a separate legal filing, the Bob Mackie Design Group and chief operating officer Marc Schwartz have come under fire for the deal. Schwartz, who started working for the designer’s company as an attorney and a consultant in 1994, said he is now the chief majority shareholder of the Bob Mackie Design Group. Referring to the legal dispute, he said Wednesday, “It’s an unfortunate situation especially at this stage in Bob’s career.”

A spokesperson for Catalyst Brands, which owns Penney’s, declined to comment Wednesday.

Schwartz said: “I foresee this being resolved in relatively short order. We don’t want this to escalate on account of both parties. Resolution discussions will be commenced shortly with JCPenney and Mr. Mackie’s attorneys.”

Schwartz said he is in conversation with JCPenney. “I hope that we can get to a quick resolution,” he said.

A spokesperson for Mackie, who is currently out to sea aboard the Queen Mary 2 on Cunard’s “Transatlantic Fashion Week” with fellow designer Christian Siriano, issued a statement Wednesday: “Bob Mackie wasn’t involved in the process of creating that collection and did not personally approve any of the designs or the use of his name in connection with it. It doesn’t reflect the work he has created over the years.”

Schwartz said Wednesday, “Bob Mackie Design Group has all rights and authority to license and to use the Bob Mackie trademark to collaborate, including with JCPenney. My position is that we want to resolve this for the integrity and the image of the brand. In my role as the steward of the brand, I have to protect it, and also clear up any alleged issues with the brand.”

Schwartz added he foresees the situation being resolved “relatively quickly,” but he declined to offer a specific time frame. “I’m working with JCPenney. I want to resolve that for both parties — for Bob Mackie Design Group and JCPenney.”

As for the future of the Mackie: Bob Mackie label at JCP, Schwartz said it was “just a test program” and it was not offered in all stores. “We will think about where we go next — a test is a test,” he said. “But we have 100 percent all rights and authority to use the Bob Mackie trademark for this collaboration.”

Schwartz disputed the claim that the release of Mackie: Bob Mackie was meant to coincide with the release of Taylor Swift’s latest album “The Life of a Showgirl.” The Grammy winner wears a shimmery Bob Mackie design on the album’s cover.

Schwartz said, “No one knew that she was wearing Bob [Mackie on the album cover]. That might have been discovered right before. I didn’t know about it. It was just a strange coincidence. The launch date [at JCP] was picked way in advance. Nobody knew anything about Taylor Swift.”

Available for a limited time and offered in sizes from 2 to 24, the Mackie: Bob Mackie label offers an A-line sequin dress that has been marked down from $139 to $66.72 and a sleeveless sequin evening gown that has been discounted from $299 to $143.52 among other styles. Schwartz said he didn’t have sales figures yet because it is “brand new.” He added, “People liked it.”

During a preview last week in New York of his designs and sketches that will be sold via Julien’s Auction on Dec. 3, Mackie spoke of how he had been approached by Swift’s team about using one of the showgirl costume designs that he had created for “Jubilee!” at Bally’s in Las Vegas. Unable to accommodate her team’s request by the deadline, her team wound up borrowing the Bob Mackie diamond-inspired look from Bally’s, which owns the costume. Pleased as he was that Swift wore the costume for the cover of “Life of a Showgirl,” he said the image demystified his image of her still being a little girl. “She’s very tall — [5’10”]. And she’s not 16. She’s 35. And she’s getting married to a football player,” Mackie said.

Swift is among a few big-name performers along with Cyrus and Sabrina Carpenter, who have been appealing to Mackie to borrow some of his designs. “These girls don’t want to be rock ‘n’ roll girls in jeans and a T-shirt. They’re up there showing off their stuff,” Mackie said.