You hit a rough patch! After being sued. Cydnie LunsfordSKKN founder for trademark infringement Kim Kardashian is responding to the lawsuit against her — claiming her company has done nothing wrong.
In a long statement, Us WeeklyLead attorney Michael RhodesThe 41-year-old reality star represented by a lawyer, denied any wrongdoing by the brand, and said he was looking forward to fighting the case in court.
“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 for SKKN BY KIM to protect the new branded products. This led to the current shakedown.
“Mid-last year, we received a letter from Beauty Concepts, an esthetician studio in Brooklyn owned by Ms. Lundsford. We are proud of Ms. Lunsford’s small business ownership and her pursuit of her dreams. But that doesn’t give her the right to wrongfully claim that we’ve done something wrong. Beauty Concepts claimed rights to a SKKN+ logo in its letter. They had just filed for trademark protection. The business was a one-person operation that offered facials in a single Brooklyn location. The salon did not have signage and was only available by appointment. Beauty Concepts did not sell any products under the SKKN+ brand, to our knowledge.
“Beauty Concepts asked that we drop the SKKN name. Naturally, 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.
“Several times we reached out to Beauty Concepts, trying to find a sensible path to coexistence. We pointed out to Beauty Concepts that being a Brooklyn-based esthetician does not grant it the right of closing down a global skin care line. In the end, Beauty Concepts didn’t really engage with us beyond demanding a lot of money.
“Since we’ve done nothing wrong, we stood our ground. We think the case is less about the law of trademarks and more about trying to leverage a settlement by threatening to harm Ms. Kardashian’s name and reputation. That’s not going to work and we look forward to presenting our case in court.”
In the initial lawsuit, filed Tuesday, June 28, Lunsford claimed that her company, Beauty Concepts, has “conducted business continuously under the SKKN+ brand in Washington, DC and/or New York, New York, since at least August 2018.” She also alleged that the domain, www.skknplus.com, and the company’s Instagram page, began in 2018 — with even the first post containing the SKKN+ logo.
Lunsford’s filing also claims that after her attempts to negotiate with Kardashian’s team in July 2021 failed, Beauty Concepts initiated legal efforts to block the Kardashians star from stealing their intellectual property. “Several months ago, they filed opposition proceedings with the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to try to stop Kardashian from using the name ‘SKKN BY KIM,’” the documents state.
This lawsuit comes two months after the Kardashian Jenners won the defamation case against them. Rob Kardashian’s ex, Blac Chyna. The model, 31, claimed the famous family was responsible for her and the Arthur George Designer’s how, Rob & ChynaThe case was dismissed without prejudice and Chyna left with no damages.
“On behalf of Kris, Kim, KhloéAnd KylieWe would like to express our gratitude to the jury. We are also grateful for the steady hand of Judge Gregory Alarcon in making sure that this was a fair trial,” Rhodes and fellow lawyer Michelle Doolin, told Us in a statement in May. “The jury sent a clear message to Ms. White and her lawyer — I hope they are listening. Justice has prevailed.”