American media personality and reality star Kim Kardashian's launch of her new SKKN skincare brand has hit a rough patch as she has been sued for alleged trademark infringement over its name.
According to E! News, she has been sued by New York businesswoman and esthetician Cydnie Lunsford Michael Rhodes, Kardashian's lawyer, denied any wrongdoing by his client and has vowed to fight the case in court.
In a statement to the outlet, he said, "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."
Lunsford in her June 28 lawsuit stated 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 noted that the group has "used the SKKN+ Marks" in connection with offering high-end salon services as well as products sold in a physical retail store and online.
The domain www.skknplus.com and the company's Instagram page were also started in 2018, with the first post containing its SKKN+ logo and advertising skincare services, reported the outlet.
"Beauty Concepts actively seeks to advertise, market to, and serve clients of all genders, races, and ethnicities, specializing in corrective skincare for all skin types. Notably, Beauty Concepts is a Black-owned business and seeks to ensure its services specifically serve Black women and other women of color, who have been historically underserved, excluded, and diminished by the beauty industry," the lawsuit stated.
However, as Kardashian's lawyer told E! News, "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."
When Kardashian refused to drop the Skkn branding for her own line, the statement claims, Beauty Concepts challenged the star's application directly with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, according to Page Six.
The lawyer claims Kardashian's camp reached out "several times" to "[try] to find a sensible path to coexistence," but that Beauty Concepts "didn't really engage with us beyond demanding a lot of money."
He concluded by calling the case "less about the law of trademarks and more about trying to leverage a settlement by threatening to harm Ms. Kardashian's name and reputation," adding, "That's not going to work."
As per Page Six, it's not the first time Kardashian's latest venture has landed her in hot water; earlier this month, social media critics called out the similarities between Skkn by Kim and Skn by LH, Lori Harvey's skincare brand launched in 2021.
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