Kylie Jenner has been slapped with a lawsuit over her hugely successful Kylie Cosmetics range. The 21-year-old has been accused of copying her Born To Sparkle liquid gold eye shadow, which she launched on 6 August for her birthday collection, from Sheree Cosmetics. The company is reportedly claiming they were selling the same glitter eyeshadow almost one year earlier, in October 2017, and are now taking the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star – who is worth around $900million (£693m) to court.
A complaint cites trademark infringement, false designation of origin and trade dress infringement, and has been filed at the US Southern District of New York.
Tiffany Herrmann’s Born to sparkle
The brand’s founder, Tiffany Herrmann, explained the move was the only way she could ‘protect her business’, and everything she ‘has worked so hard for’. She also voiced her fears that Kylie’s release of a similar eye shadow – with the same name – had damaged her sales, as people who would have been searching for her products could have been directed to Kylie Cosmetics.
‘We are a truly self-made business and I wonder who was led to the wrong Born To Sparkle palette when searching for ours,’ she told the publication. ‘As far as an outcome we just want to make sure that Born To Sparkle is protected and that what is right prevails.’ Kylie Cosmetics launched Born To Sparkle on 6 August as part of her 21st birthday bundle, with Ky giving fans the first glimpse at her new offerings on her Instagram story, on 1 August.
Daily Mail states court documents show Sheree Cosmetics filed a trademark for Born To Sparkle on 30 August. The brand’s lawyer, Anthony M Verna III, has not revealed how much money they are looking for in damages from the mum-of-one. Discussing the lawsuit, he said: ‘On trademark infringement, we are claiming that because Sheree Cosmetics was first with this particular name, in this particular set of goods and services. ‘False designation of origin is a little trickier to explain but basically we are stating Kylie Cosmetics falsely claimed their product came from Sheree Cosmetics. I certainly think we have some evidence of that as well.
‘Lastly, for what we call trade dress, because the look and feel of the products are very similar, again confusing consumers.’ Kylie has yet to speak out over the claims, but has promoted her upcoming lip kits – 2014, Queen and Kylie – on social media.