Kylie Jenner is Suing to Secure her Copyright to Stormi Jenner’s Good Name
The thing that makes a trademark different from other forms of intellectual property is that it has to be used and defended to be valid. If you write a book, you own the copyright to that book for the next 95 years or so. If your business closes, though, someone else could theoretically use the name of your business for their own, and not too long after you went under.
It’s no surprise, then, that Kylie Jenner is challenging the legitimacy of Business Moves Consulting‘s Stormi Couture trademark, a mark they filed for about a month after Stormi was born.
I want to be sympathetic to Kylie, especially since Business Moves Consulting has a history of this sort of thing. But TMZ reported some things from Jenner’s lawsuit that made me almost want to see her lose.
Kylie says Stormi has “achieved fame in her own right,” and points out that her “StormiWorld” birthday parties have been covered by major media outlets like Vogue. She also says Stormi’s cosmetic line has already become hugely popular.
As Kylie’s team states in the docs … “The Stormi name is well known, and uniquely and unmistakably is associated with Stormi Webster.”
Let’s feel that s**t in, Kylie, Stormi just turned 2. No one has “achieved fame in their own right” before they can poop on the potty. If we’re really honest here, the only member of the Kardashian family to achieve fame in their own right was Caitlyn Jenner, who was an Olympic gold medalist. Well, and maybe Kim Kardashian for her career as an amateur porn star. The rest of them are just pulling themselves up on those coattails.
I’m not a trademark lawyer, so I don’t know who is right here. One the one hand, I’m not sure registering celebrity baby names is actually grounds for a legitimate trademark. But it also doesn’t seem very different from selling junk with your kid’s name on it. Seriously, Stormi’s cosmetic line is hugely popular? With who? Is it makeup for two-year-olds or are adults buying makeup from a two-year-old? Does it make a difference? How is this a good idea?
