Kim Kardashian accused of stealing black business owners trademark name

Back on the headlines, Kim Kardashian is facing a potential lawsuit after trademarking her skincare brand SKKN and is being called out by a black-owned beauty brand with a similar name.

SKKN+ has been running since 2017

 The brand has been providing beauty spa services such as waving, chemical peels, facials and more since July  2017 under the name SKKN+ and it seems Kim is in favour of the brand looking to do something similar after the success of her other businesses. As the queen of beauty, Kim’s reputation is likely to overshadow the small business and using a brand name almost identical seems unfair particularly after the challenges small businesses have had to overcome due to the pandemic. SKKN+ is based in Brooklyn and is owned by 28-year-old Cydnie Lunsford. Cyndie is fighting for her brand and has hired lawyers to send a cease and desist warning Kim’s team to rethink their choices before further action is taken. The document insists that the company has the rights to the name having used I for 3 years before Kim’s trademark application. 

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A post shared by SKKN+ (@skknplus)

“It’s clear that I established my brand first. As a young black woman, my mission with SKKN+ is to provide quality skincare and curated full-body experiences to enhance each client’s self-care regimen.”

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According to the Cease-and -desist letter Kim is applying to have the name trademarked to use it on a wider scale not only for a beauty brand but for beauty products, retails services, online content and entertainment which is likely to confuse.

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A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian)

Kim K’s past controversy

Kim Kardashian has previously been on the firing line after being called out for the name of her shapewear brand being cultural appropriation after naming it Kimono, which is a traditional Japanese robe. Fans found it insensitive and inaccurate to take a random name from another culture and use it in a way that doesn’t link to Japanese culture whatsoever but to replace the meaning completely. Culture appropriation is often about the erasure of another culture through another culture taking it over without acknowledging or spreading awareness of its original meaning and significance to the culture it belongs to. Despite the hashtag #kimOhNo circulating for yet another case of cultural appropriation from Kim she took it on the chin and took the feedback as some market research and went back to the drawing board coming up with SKIMS. Kim has also recently shut down KKW  beauty after announcing the store will be undergoing a brand revamp. With lots of things in the pipeline, Kim is under pressure and it may be getting to her. 

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“My fans and followers are a huge inspiration to me — I’m always listening to their feedback and opinions, and am so grateful they shared their ideas for a new brand name,” 

Due to this latest accusation following another lawsuit from a former employee for a violation Kim is struggling to keep afloat and her every move is being critiqued. Her new beauty brand has great potential however she may want to put some more time into her branding.