Just weeks after Twitter was discussing the similarities between a Black-owned business and Kim Kardashian‘s SKKN skincare line, the owner of Beauty Concepts has filed a lawsuit against the reality star for trademark infringement.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, it’s said that the owner of Beauty Concepts says she “owns the rights to “SKKN+” and says Kim’s use of the moniker on her beauty products is confusing customers.”
Kim’s team denies the infringement claims and claims “this lawsuit is not what it seems.”
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Michael Rhodes, Kim’s attorney continued:
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 for SKKN BY KIM to protect the new branded products. This prompted the current shakedown effort.
Rhodes continued to say:
We applaud Ms. Lunsford 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. In its letter, Beauty Concepts claimed to own rights to a logo made up of SKKN+, and had just filed for trademark protection for that logo. The business was a one-person shop offering facials from a single Brooklyn location. The salon had no signage and was by appointment only. To our knowledge, Beauty Concepts sold no products under the SKKN+
He also stated:
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.
As of now, the two are headed to court.
Roomies, what do y’all think of this?
