Cell Phone Case Company Sues Kim Kardashian West for Patent Infringement
Kim Kardashian West is being sued by a cell phone accessory company for $100 million for alleged patent infringement.
SnapLight, a San Marcos-based company that makes cell phone cases with LED lights, sued Kardashian's Kimsaprincess Inc. for allegedly ripping off the idea for the LED light-surrounded cell phone case.
According to the San Diego Tribune, SnapLight claimed it has the original patent to the LED-surrounded cell phone case and that Kardashian's LuMee cases are pushing the small business out of the market. Kardashian initially started as an endorser of the said cases, until she eventually became an official partner of the brand.
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This partnership, SnapLight claimed, increased the damage on SnapLight's sales. The company further claimed that it has become extremely difficult for SnapLight to compete against LuMee due to Kardashian's endorsement of the product to her millions of followers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
In its complaint, SnapLight stated that a man named Hooshmand Harooni filed a patent for an "integrated lighting accessory and case for a mobile phone device" in 2013. Harooni then licensed this invention to SnapLight, The Hollywood Reporter wrote.
SnapLight also seeks at least $100 million in lost profits.
"The patent lawsuit filed by Snap Light has no merit and is just another attempted shakedown. Kim has done absolutely nothing wrong," a representative of Kardashian said.
In November 2016, LuMee filed a patent infringement lawsuit against SnapLight. The case is still pending in a federal court in Delaware.
Kardashian's endorsement and use of LuMee cases were a massive marketing boost for the brand especially when the reality star used it to take a selfie with then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Months later in an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Clinton was said to have been impressed by the flattering result of the photo taken with a cellphone case that had "little, tiny, tiny lightbulbs."
