Kim Kardashian has been served a cease and desist letter by a Brooklyn-based business that claims her brand name, SKKN, is not original.
We’re no strangers to Kim Kardashian landing herself in hot water over names. Anyone remember the “Kimono” fiasco of 2019? Following intense backlash after trying to rename her brand ‘Kimono’, she ultimately settled on the name ‘Skims’ (which, by the way, is the official provider of underwear for the U.S. Olympic team at the Tokyo Olympics).
The KKW Beauty founder is now facing legal issues again, this time over the name of her brand SKKN. As you may know, Kim’s brand KKW Beauty was to be re-launched under the title SKKN. Earlier this year, Kim and her team thus filed to trademark the names SKKN and SKKN BY KIM.
A small Brooklyn-based business by the name of SKKN+, however, has now served Kardashian with a cease and desist letter. A small, black-owned establishment headed by Cydnie Lusnford, SKKN+ is a popular local salon.
In a statement to Us Weekly, Lusnford said: “I have painstakingly built my successful small business with my own sweat equity, hard work and research. 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.”
Lusnford’s lawyer also stated that they had filed to trademark the name before Kardashian and her team.
In response, Kardashian and her team are already up in arms, with her attorney saying that they were “disappointed that [Lusnford] has chosen to run to the media”.
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“We certainly appreciate and support small businesses and our hat is off to Ms. Lunsford. But the question at hand is one of trademark law and we’ve not done anything deserving of legal action by her.” Kardashian’s attorney, Michael G. Rhodes said to TMZ.
