As reported by E! News, just seven days after Kim Kardashian launched her new skincare brand SKKN By Kim, New York businesswoman and esthetician Cydnie Lunsford sued Kardashian for trademark infringement over the “SKKN” name.
In the lawsuit, Lunsford claims 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". On March 28, 2021, Beauty Concepts filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark its SKKN+ design mark, or stylized logo, for use in beauty salon and skincare services.
Lunsford claims that Beauty Concepts reached out to Kardashian’s team last year to "request that they abandon their plans to use a mark incorporating the most significant elements of Beauty Concepts' mark SKKN+, namely the letters 'SKKN'". Kardashian’s lawyer reportedly believed they were doing nothing wrong and refused.
Lunsford is suing Kardashian for trademark infringement and unfair competition, unlawful deceptive acts and business practices, civil conspiracy, common law unjust enrichment and reverse confusion, for an undisclosed amount of damages and has demanded a jury trial.
Authors: Caitlin Woodford and Olivia Moon, 2022 Summer Student-at-law
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