Kim Kardashian West successfully fought online fashion brand Missguided in a court battle, earning her $2.8 million in the process. The Verge reported that the lawsuit was filed in relation to the alleged trademark violations made by the fashion company.
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star filed the charges in February in light of the brand’s use of her “persona and trademark” in order to boost sales of their products. Missguided is known for producing replicas of clothes Kardashian wear in her social media posts.
In an Instagram post, Kardashian West pleaded fast fashion brands to “wait until [she wears the clothes] in real life” before making “knock-off” versions. She also emphasized that the clothing pieces were made by her husband Kanye West, making the design an intellectual property of the rapper.
The lawsuit said that Missguided used the star’s trademark possibly “to cause consumers to mistakenly believe that the Plaintiffs are associated” with the brand, or “that they sponsor or endorse” the company.
According to reports, the online shop constantly tagged the celebrity in their promotional posts on social media. Consumers have also stated that such a misunderstanding indeed occurred.
Yahoo Style UK reports that Kardashian West originally sued the Manchester-based fast-fashion firm for over $10 million in damages. The businesswoman and aspiring lawyer only won a fraction of this amount through default judgment.
The company in question lost the court battle even when the lawsuit was not litigated at all. This is because Missguided did not respond to the reality star’s lawsuit. The judgment ordered the brand to pay $59,600 in attorney fees in addition to the multi-million it paid.
The judge also ordered the firm to stop using the celebrity’s trademarks in its operations, specifically with “sale, marketing, or distribution.”
