Kylie who? Minogue fights Jenner bid to trademark name

Singer’s representatives call Jenner a ‘secondary reality television personality’ as she claims ownership of Kylie name in US

Licence to Kylie … Kylie Minogue (left) is taking on Kylie Jenner.
Licence to Kylie … Kylie Minogue (left) is taking on Kylie Jenner. Composite: Rex Shutterstock/Getty Images

There’s only one Kylie, fans of the Australian pop star might once have said. But not any more, as Kylie Minogue is mounting a legal bid to prevent Kylie Jenner claiming ownership of the name.

Jenner, who appears in the reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, is hoping to trademark the name Kylie in the US to use for her expanding empire of beauty and clothing collections.

But last week KDB, an Australian firm representing Minogue, filed opposition to the application, claiming that allowing Jenner to take the Kylie name would cause confusion for Minogue fans and dilute her brand.

KDB goes on to describe Jenner as a “secondary reality television personality”.

In making its case for which Kylie is the more legitimate Kylie, it goes on to list criticism Jenner has faced from African American communities and disability rights groups, particularly for her “photographic exhibitionism” on social media. In December, Jenner caused controversy by posing in a wheelchair for a photoshoot with Interview magazine.

In contrast, the claim describes Minogue as an “internationally renowned performing artist, humanitarian, and breast cancer activist”.

Minogue is no stranger to trademarking names. She currently owns the terms “Kylie Minogue”, “Kylie Minogue Darling” (the name of her perfume brand) and “Lucky – the Kylie Minogue musical”.

As of 2015, Kylie Minogue had record sales of more than 80m, though Jenner can almost match that number in terms of followers on social media.

The network is considering taking its case to the European courts, arguing that the forced rebranding of Glee could have “catastrophic consequences” for the show, which would also cover repeat shows, DVD sales, stage show performances and downloads.

In 2007, Angelina Jolie became embroiled in a similar battle after perfume designer Symine Salimpour attempted to trademark the name Shiloh for her new fragrance. Jolie’s daughter is also called Shiloh and Jolie fought a five-month battle against the name patent but eventually lost.

To prevent such an occurrence, Beyoncé and Jay-Z filed a trademark application for their daughter’s name, Blue Ivy Carter, just a few days after she was born in January 2012. Taylor Swift also recently staked her claim to several phrases used in her 1989 album, trademarking lyrics such as “This sick beat”, “Cause we never go out of style” and “Party like it’s 1989”.

 

 

Source: theguardian.com