Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
A trademark infringement suit recently filed in Chicago federal court shows how it doesn’t pay to have the same initials as a reality TV queen. Kim Kardashian West has won the right to have the case against her newly launched cosmetics company transferred from Illinois to her home base of California.
A Danish makeup artist and cosmetics producer is accusing Kardashian West and her company, Kimsaprincess Inc., of promoting a similar-sounding product line that could potentially get consumers confused between the two brands. Kirsten Kjaer Weiss, who brands her own products with her name and initials, KW, filed the trademark suit in the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that Kardashian West’s KKW brand sounds too much like hers.
U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. ruled that even though the suit was properly brought in Illinois because both companies’ products are sold in the Chicago area, the Central District of California is a more appropriate venue because that is where Kimsaprincess is based, and where key witnesses for the company are subject to jurisdiction. Both KW and KKW products are also sold in California. Weiss’s line is sold in retail stores, while Kardashian’s are sold only online.
Weiss launched her organic cosmetics and skincare line in 2010, through Kjaer Weiss LLC, which is based in New York. She had argued for the Southern District of New York as an alternate venue to Illinois. Continue reading ›