MINOGUE FIGHTS JENNER BID TO TRADEMARK THEIR NAME “KYLIE”

MINOGUE FIGHTS JENNER BID TO TRADEMARK THEIR NAME “KYLIE”

What’s in a name? The thing we call a rose would smell just as sweet if we called it by any other name. Not so fast, Shakespeare fans. At least not in this time and age.

After Kylie Jenner, of the TV show ‘Keeping UP With the Kardashians’, made an attempt to trademark the name “Kylie”  for her expanding beauty and clothing collections through the US Patent and Trademark Office last August, pop superstar Kylie Minogue responded not only by filing a comprehensive notice of opposition, but also by slugging some not-so-subtle shade at the teenage reality star on Twitter.

“Hello….. My name is KYLIE #lightyears,” Minogue, 47, wrote to her 2.3 million followers, a lyric from her 2000 song Light Years, cryptically addressing the trademark battle. The Australian singer’s hashtag also doubles as a reference to her extensive experience of over 30 years in the entertainment industry over Jenner, 18.

Minogue and her Melbourne-based KDB Holdings argue that if Jenner’s application, which relates to “advertising services”, was successful it could confuse fans of both Kylies and harm Minogue’s brand, which owns trademarks for “Kylie Minogue Darling,” “Lucky- the Kylie Minogue musical” and “Kylie Minogue.  In addition, The Mirror reports that Minogue has owned the domain name, Kylie.com, since August 21, 1996 — a whole year before Jenner was even born.

Additionally, it argues that Jenner’s monopolization of “Kylie” is undeserved since she is a “secondary reality television personality”, who appeared as “a supporting character” on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The Mirror also reports the opposition’s court papers making reference to Jenner’s past controversies, noting: “Ms. Jenner is active on social media where her photographic exhibitionism and controversial posts have drawn criticism from, e.g., the Disability Rights and African-American communities.”

In September last year Jenner was accused of racism after apparently buying her mixed race friend a birthday cake with the inscription “happy birthday N****” written in icing. And in December she posed in a wheelchair in a fashion shoot for Interview magazine, provoking outcry from disability rights groups.

While it is for the authorities to decide who keeps the name, for us music fans we hope to hear more from Kylie …err Minogue from her collaboration with NERVO – The Other Boys

 

more features