Kim Kardashian’s Attorneys Call SKKN Lawsuit ‘A Shakedown’

SKKN by Kim, Kim Kardashian’s recently rebranded skin-care brand, has generated debate over its title. However, Kim’s legal counsel claims that it is only a “shakedown effort.”

A firm out of Brooklyn by the name of Beauty Concepts is suing Kim for trademark infringement over her new brands, SKKN and SKKN BY Kim. Beauty Concepts claims it has the right to “SKKN+” and alleges Kim’s usage of the name on her beauty goods is misleading buyers.

TMZ obtained the lawsuit and reported more details. According to the complaint, Beauty Concepts claims that it is a Black and woman-owned business that survived the epidemic and moved up to a brick-and-mortar store, only to discover Kim K was establishing her new brand with a relatively identical name.

According to the document, Beauty Concepts contacted Kim’s team after she filed paperwork attempting to get the rights to “SKKN” notifying her that it already possessed the copyright for “SKKN+” and asked Kim not to use similar branding.

The company says Kim’s staff rejected the request and proceeded with the release of her collection regardless.

Michael Rhodes, Kim’s attorney, said, “This lawsuit is not what it seems. SKKN BY KIM is a new brand that follows in the footsteps of Ms. Kardashian’s successful KKW line of products. Building on independent research and development, her company filed a trademark application for SKKN BY KIM to protect the new branded products. This prompted the current shakedown effort.”

“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. 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.” Rhodes claims.

Rhodes continued to say, “The business was a one-person shop offering facials from a single Brooklyn location. The salon had no signage and was by appointment only. To our knowledge, Beauty Concepts sold no products under the SKKN+ name.”

According to Rhodes, Kim’s team attempted to negotiate with Beauty Concepts to find a solution, and he emphasized that owning a tiny esthetician business in Brooklyn does not give it the authority to shut down a worldwide skincare line.

Kim and Beauty Concepts are still at odds about who owns the trademark. We’ll have to see how things turn out for Kim K. Stay tuned to Thirsty for more updates!

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