Model Hailey Bieber, 25, has barely launched her Rhode cosmetics line and has already been sued by a clothing brand of the same name, according to TMZ. She has been accused by the company of infringing trademark rights for eight years.
Rhode’s legal team told Page Six that Hailey tried to acquire the trademark from designer duo Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers in 2018, but they declined the offer. The model went ahead and launched her eponymous brand on June 15th.
Lisa T. Simpson, litigation consultant for Rhode, said Hailey launched the eponymous brand despite knowing the rights and called it an unfortunate circumstance.
“We, of course, understand that Hailey wants to use her middle name for her brand, but the law on that is clear: you can’t create this kind of branding confusion just because you want to use your name,” Simpson said.
The litigation consultant added that the model is hurting a small brand. “What Ms. Bieber is doing is undermining a minority-owned company that two women painstakingly built into a growing global brand.”
In a statement to Page Six, Rhode co-founders Khatau and Vickers claimed they were “forced” to file the lawsuit “to protect the business”. “We’re still a young and growing company, and we can’t get over a celebrity with a following like Hailey using our company name to sell related products,” the partners said.
They also said they don’t want to sue Hailey, but celebrate her as fellow entrepreneurs. “She could choose any brand for her company. We only have the brand that we build.”
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