Last month, Hailey Bieber was sued for trademark infringement by a clothing brand which goes by the same name. Now, she has won the legal battle to name her skincare company “Rhode”, which is also her middle name. The lawsuit was filed by a fashion label Rhode, which is carried by retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Net-a-Porter.
Legal Victory To Carry Family’s Name…
Hailey Bieber has scored a big legal victory and is now legally entitled to launch Rhode–her new skincare line after a federal judge denied the clothing company, Rhode’s NYC motion for a preliminary injunction on Friday (July 2022). The clothing company was founded in 2014 by Purna Khatu and Phoebe Vickers.
About The Trademark Infringement Suit…
The fashion label Rhode, which is carried by retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Net-a-Porter, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in June stating that s Bieber’s unauthorised use of the trademarked “Rhode,” which is also her middle name, represents a “textbook case of reverse confusion in which a massive junior trademark user threatens to trample a smaller senior user’s mark.”
Purna Khatu and Vickers issued a joint statement saying: ”We didn’t want to file this lawsuit, but we had to in order to protect our business. While a global brand we are still a young and global company, and we cannot overcome a celebrity with Hailey’s following using our company’s name to sell related products.”
The court document also stated that Justin Bieber’s wife attempted to purchase the Rhode trademark for clothing in 2018 but both, Khatu and Vickers denied selling their brands. In Rhode’s court filings, it pointed to evidence of confusion among consumers on Instagram, who was tagging the wrong Rhode in photos.
Hailey Bieber’s new brand, Rhode, launched on June 15th and promises “dewy, delicious skin”, well Hailey is definitely serving the purpose of her brand from her new photos. Well, the brand is promising and gives you the necessary hydration.
On the other hand, the clothing brand, Rhode was launched in 2014 and offers colourful printed dresses and separates loved by celebrities like Mindy Kaling and Kelly Clarkson. The lawsuit stated that “the magnitude of Bieber’s following and the virality of her marketing will cause immediate, ongoing and irreparable harm to the Rhode brand.”
Hailey previously revealed on a show that “Rhode is my middle name and it’s a family name and I always had a dream of having a brand name that was named after Rhode because it’s also a family name. it’s my mom’s middle name too.” Well, now her dream is fulfilled and she can keep her business up and running with this big win!
