admin The creators of a successful clothing line under the trademark Rhode have sued Hailey Bieber on Tuesday. The two former college roommates claim that the model is responsible for creating market confusion by using the Rhode name to market a skin care line.
The lawsuit taking place in the Manhattan federal court requested a judge to cite trademark infringement and immediately block Ms. Bieber from the sale and marketing of any product with the Rhode name. It also sought damages that have not yet been specified.
The lawsuit deemed the intervention of the court necessary. This is because Hailey Bieber is a celebrity with over 45 million Instagram followers who launched her skin care line last week and has filed trademark applications to sell clothing.
Hailey Bieber is Justin Bieber’s wife. The lawsuit claims that her husband has promoted her business to his own Instagram followers which number a whopping 243 million. This has resulted in generation of 1.5 million likes with just one posting. Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As per the lawsuit, Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers are looking to protect the business that they started back in 2014 when they quit their day jobs to create a high end clothing and accessories line, targeting “feminine, confident and well traveled women.”
Since then, it said, their products have had the opportunity of being featured in Vogue, sold in stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus worldwide, and adorned by celebrities that include big names like Beyonce, Mindy Kaling and Rihanna. As per projection, their sales are expected to hit $14.5 million this year.
On the day her product was launched, Hailey Bieber said in a Forbes story that she’s had a “really hard time” with “a world of media that likes to perpetuate women against women,” the lawsuit said.
“However, the reality is that the “world of media ” that Ms. Bieber describes is at her disposal. And she has chosen to use it to destroy a woman and minority co founded brand that simply cannot compete with her immense fame and following,” the lawsuit said
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