Kim Kardashian Slams “SKKN” Trademark Lawsuit As A “Shakedown”. The 41-year-old is no new to legal disputes over her cosmetics.
Kim Kardashian has previously achieved great things with KKW Beauty/Fragrance and SKIMS, but her most recent project saw her delve into the skincare market with her SKKN By Kim brand.
The mother of four has frequently faced lawsuits while introducing new items, and this time was no different. According to TMZ, she is being sued by a small, Black and female-owned firm in Brooklyn for trademark infringement, but her attorney, Michael Rhodes, maintains that the action is nothing more than a “shakedown.”
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In a statement obtained by TMZ, Kardashian’s legal counsel explained, “This lawsuit is not what it seems. SKKN By Kim is a new brand that follows in the footsteps of Ms. Kardashian’s successful KKW line of products. Building on independent research and development, her company filed a trademark application to protect the new branded products. This prompted the current shakedown effort.”
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“Mid-last year, we received a letter from Beauty Concepts, an esthetician studio in Brooklyn owned by Ms. Lundsford. We applaud [her] for being a small business owner and following her dreams, but that doesn’t give her the right to wrongfully claim that we’ve done something wrong.”
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Rhodes emphasized that Lundsford operated his store alone and provided facials from a single location. “The salon had no signage and was by appointment only. To our knowledge, Beauty Concepts sold no products under the SKKN+ name,” he added.
“Beauty Concepts asked that we drop the SKKN name. Of course, we said no. Beauty Concepts then challenged Ms. Kardashian’s trademark applications at the USPTO. Unsurprisingly, the USPTO rejected Beauty Concepts’ own SKKN+ mark saying that “skkn” just means “skin.” Undaunted, Beauty Concepts then tried to make its business seem more than it was – it leased a new storefront, changed its website, etc.”
The defense of the reality star said that they made an effort to negotiate a coexistence agreement with Beauty Concepts, despite the fact that the little company allegedly “didn’t really interact with [them] a lot beyond demanding a lot of money.”
Read the full statement below
