Not So Fast! Kim Kardashian Accused of Trying to Steal Black Woman’s SKKN Trademark

Kim Kardashian’s latest business trademark filing got slapped with the “aht aht” by one Black business owner who says she had the name first.

The reality star has been in the process of rebranding her KKW Beauty company and started things by filing a trademark for the names SKKN and SKKN by KIM, Page Six reported.

However, shortly after Kardashian filed the paperwork, she was slapped with a cease-and-desist letter from Beauty Concepts LLC, a company that claims to have been using the name since 2018.

The company’s owner, Cyndie Lunsford, submitted a July 21 letter where she explains how she has operated a salon with skincare, and spa services under the SKKN+ brand name for the last three years. Lunsford’s company claims to have filed to trademark the SKKN+ name on March 28, two days before Kardashian’s March 30 trademark filing.

Kardashian’s hopes for the SKKN brand including releasing a series of skincare, haircare, nail care, perfumes and candle products as part of her beauty brand’s relaunch. But now Beauty Concepts wants Kardashian’s trademark filing to be tossed out claiming it will confuse consumers from differentiating between the two competing beauty brands.

“I have painstakingly built my successful small business with my own sweat equity, hard work, and research,” Lunsford said, “It’s clear that I established my brand first.”

The 28-year-old New York- and Washington, D.C.-based Black business owner works as an aesthetician and entrepreneur. She already has social media pages using the SKKN+ name.

But being the superstar beauty mogul that she already is, Kardashian’s lawyers are barking back, saying they did nothing to warrant the legal threat from Lunsford.

“We certainly appreciate and support small businesses, and our hat is off to Ms. Lunsford. But the question at hand is one of trademark law and we’ve not done anything deserving of legal action by her,” Kim’s attorney Michael G. Rhodes told TMZ.

“We are disappointed that she has chosen to run to the media knowing that we were scheduling a call for tomorrow, requested by her attorney,” he added. “So while disagreeing with the letter, we’re hopeful that we can smooth things over once both sides speak.”