Kim Kardashian Responds to Skincare Line Lawsuit

Kim Kardashian‘s lawyer, Michael Rhodes, responded to the trademark infringement claim.

“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,” he said in a statement to E! News.

The lawsuit claims 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.”

“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 claims.

“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,” Kim‘s lawyer responded.

On March 28, 2021, Beauty Concepts filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark its SKKN+ design mark. And two days later on March 30, 2021, Kim filed several trademark applications to be able to use the term “SKKN BY KIM” for skincare products and a variety of merchandise. She filed to trademark just the word “SKKN” for use in skincare products in July.

“Mid-last year, we received a letter from Beauty Concepts, an esthetician studio in Brooklyn owned by Ms. Lunsford. In its letter, Beauty Concepts claimed to own rights to a logo made up of SKKN+, and had just filed for trademark protection for that logo. To our knowledge, Beauty Concepts sold no products under the SKKN+ name,” the lawyer also said, adding: “Beauty Concepts asked that we drop the SKKN name. Of course we said no.”

He also said that “several times we reached out to Beauty Concepts, trying to find a sensible path to coexistence. We pointed out that running a small esthetician business in Brooklyn does not give it the right to shut down a global skin care line. Since we’ve done nothing wrong, we stood our ground.”

Cydnie Lunsford is suing for trademark infringement and unfair competition, unlawful deceptive acts and business practices, civil conspiracy, common law unjust enrichment and reverse confusion, saying that Kim‘s “actions have led and are likely to continue to lead the public to conclude, incorrectly,” that her “goods originate from” Kim‘s line. The lawsuit is for an undisclosed amount of damages and demands a jury trial.

“Were it not for the willful infringement and usurpation of the SKKN+ Brand by [Kim's team], Ms. Lunsford‘s and Beauty Concepts’ growth trajectory and future success were assured. They are now in jeopardy due to the willful and improper actions of the Defendants,” the lawsuit claims. For more details, head to EOnline.com.

At the same time, Kim also responded to allegations about her 2022 Met Gala outfit.