Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian sued for trade secret misappropriation by cosmetics company
Cosmetics manufacturer Seed Beauty in legal battle with reality stars and Coty
Seed Beauty, the company that manufactures Kylie Jenner’s and Kim Kardashian-West’s cosmetics lines, is suing the media moguls to prevent misappropriation of trade secrets now that both stars have inked deals with the multinational beauty company Coty.
In a civil suit filed in California’s superior court Tuesday, Seed Beauty alleged that Kylie Cosmetics and its LLC, King Kylie, shared the company’s confidential intellectual property with Coty, according to report from The Fashion Law, which also uploaded a redacted copy of Seed Beauty’s complaint.
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| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTY | COTY INC. | 7.07 | -0.13 | -1.81% |
When Coty reportedly showed interest in acquiring Kylie Cosmetics in June 2019 and later acquired 51 percent of the star’s company for $600 million in November 2019, Seed Beauty’s co-founder and CEO John Nelson notified Jenner’s LLC that it was “prohibited from disclosing” its secrets, according to the complaint. Moreover, the suit said representatives at King Kylie “refused to confirm or deny whether it had already disclosed the agreement to Coty.”
To support its complaint, Seed Beauty, which characterizes itself as having a “digital-first business model,” cited Coty’s June 1 investor call where the company’s CEO, Peter Harf, said the beauty giant was “in the process of creating a digital platform and social media and e-commerce across all the brand portfolio of Coty," according to The Fashion Law.
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A few days prior to Seed Beauty’s most recent legal filing, the company won a temporary injunction against Kardashian-West’s KKW Beauty in an attempt to protect its trade secrets and filed another lawsuit. However, Coty announced it had acquired a 20 percent stake in KKW Beauty for $200 million on Monday.
Seed Beauty has gone on to allege that KKW Beauty disclosed trade secret information to Coty without its consent and is aiming to prohibit the use of any obtained information, according to The Fashion Law.
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FOX Business reached out to Seed Beauty, Coty, Kylie Cosmetics and KKW Beauty but did not immediately hear back at the time of publication.
The beauty brands and stars have faced scrutiny in the past from cosmetic and fashion professionals who have felt that their work had been stolen and not properly credited.
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In 2017, Kylie Cosmetics was sued by makeup artist Vlada Haggerty for having a similar makeup application and photoshoot set up for an ad as well as a logo that is reminiscent of the dripping lip looks that Haggerty is also known for on social media.
The issue was settled in January 2017, according to a report from Harper’s Bazaar.
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Coty ran into a similar issue in 2018 when one of Korea’s celebrity nail technicians, Unistella, alleged that the beauty giant’s brand, Sally Hansen, approached her for a collaboration but instead created its own version of “glass nails” and “wire nails” -- which are designs Unistella is known for.
Target reportedly stopped selling Sally Hansen’s version of the nail designs online after social media users reached out and rated it one star, according to a report from The Cut.
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That same year, celebrity jeweler Tanaya Henry of Laced By Tanaya alleged that KKW Beauty copied her “lip lace” concept for a lipstick ad, which involves lip and teeth jewelry.
Henry reportedly felt betrayed over the ad’s similarity to her work given that it occurred days after she spoke with Kardashian-West’s husband, Kanye West, according to a report from BET.
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Seed Beauty’s portfolio of brands outside of Kylie Cosmetics and KKW Beauty includes ColourPop Cosmetics, Fourth Ray Beauty, SOL Body and Tati Beauty. Coty’s portfolio, on the other hand, includes a range of brands at varied price points, such as CoverGirl, Burberry and Calvin Klein.