Kylie Can't Get Trademark Dispute Out Of Her Head

There are a select band of celebrities whose fame has reached such a level that they are known by one name only. Among these are stars such as Madonna and the late Prince. Kylie Minogue the Australian pop superstar is one such celebrity who is often known only by her first name. Ms Minogue therefore chose to oppose attempts to register the name 'Kylie' in the USA by Kylie Jenner.

Ms Jenner is a reality star and part of the Kardashian family.  She has now branched out into producing cosmetics and other products aimed at teenage girls. It is as part of this range that she sought to register the name Kylie. Ms Minogue objected to these registrations on the basis that the application would cause confusion and would also damage the reputation that Ms Minogue has built up in her name.

The opposition was originally suspended in April 2016 to allow for settlement discussions. This suspension lapsed, however a further suspension was granted at the request of Ms Jenner in October 2016 to allow for further discussions. Kylie Minogue has now withdrawn her opposition to the trademark application on a without prejudice basis.

As the opposition has been withdrawn on a without prejudice basis we cannot know why Kylie Minogue chose to withdraw her opposition but it seems likely that a mutually agreeable settlement was reached. It is also likely that this probably involved some form of financial payment to Ms Minogue.

Though we cannot be sure it is likely that this settlement has been to the advantage of both parties. This demonstrates that if the parties are prepared to enter into meaningful negotiations and approach a dispute from a commercial viewpoint, then the dispute can be resolved relatively quickly and at a significantly reduced cost.