Kylie Minogue vs. Kylie Jenner Trademark Lawsuit News: Kylie Minogue Wins 'Kylie' Battle
It is a battle for a name and trademark between two Kylie-named stars - Kylie Minogue and Kylie Jenner. But this time, Minogue gets the first win.
On Monday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided in favor of music artist Minogue, as they rejected Jenner's petition to seal the name "Kylie" so she can use it as an official brand for her makeup and beauty product line.
The reality TV star has been trying to trademark the name since April 2014 and wanted to put up fences around the moniker she shares with the singer-songwriter so she can use it for advertisement services. Jenner followed through with her bid to exclusively use the name for entertainment services and the USPTO put it up for contention in February 2016.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
That same month, Minogue filed her opposition through her representatives from the Australian business firm KBD. The music artist, dubbed as the "Princess of Pop," and KBD argued that if the USPTO favors Jenner's claims, it will cause a great deal of confusion among fans and consumers.
Several days after Minogue submitted her case, she posted a cryptic Twitter message saying, "Hello..... My name is KYLIE #lightyears." While the hashtag is obviously derived from one of her many songs, "Light Years," it might also be a discreet hit at Jenner, implying that Kylie has been the singer's name longer than it has been for the reality star.
Minogue earned points for having a good amount of albums and other brands that carry her first name since she started her career. Her first album was titled "Kylie" and was released in 1988, nine years before Jenner was born. In 1994, Minogue released another album titled "Kylie Minogue."
Minogue's camp also argued that the singer-actress already owns several trademarks carrying the name Kylie such as "Kylie Minogue darling" and "Lucky – the Kylie Minogue musical." Added to this, Minogue has been using the domain name kylie.com since 1996.
Reports quoted parts of Minogue's argument, particularly about Jenner's social media "photographic exhibitionism" and how her "controversial posts have drawn criticism from, e.g., the Disability Rights and African-American communities."
Despite strong claims by Minogue's camp, fans of the two Kylies will likely hear more about this case in the future as reports have it that Jenner is already drawing up an appeal to pursue winning the trademark battle.
