Heather Antoine was recently quoted in Glossy’s article “What’s the deal with all the trademark controversies in beauty?” which examined the slew of legal issues surrounding celebrity-owned brands and long-standing beauty enterprises.
The article examines the uptick of trademark lawsuits within the beauty industry that typically favor the senior user, as the junior is argued to be capitalizing on their success. However, it is not always that straightforward as seen with the 2022 trademark suits against Kim Kardashian’s SKKN by Kim and Hailey Bieber’s Rhode. Both of these cases relied on “reverse infringement,” an argument in which a well-known junior trademark user such as Kardashian or Bieber can take away from the notoriety of a senior user. Heather explained, “Celebrities can launch a brand and easily overtake public recognition overnight, even though they are the junior user. This potentially causes reverse confusion.”
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