Rare Beauty files lawsuit following threats from similarly named brand

Selena Gomez's beauty brand, Rare Beauty, received massive support upon its launch in 2020. The brand's Instagram profile racked up over 1 million followers just one day after its creation, and the liquid blush from the brand is a best-selling item.

However, the Southern Californian brand has come under legal problems following an infringement lawsuit. Kesheena Heard, the owner of Rarebeauty Cosmetics, filed a "petition for cancelation" against the singer's brand and demanded $10 million to avoid a "trademark infringement suit." This has prompted Rare Beauty to file a counter lawsuit against the Atlanta-based brand.

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Rare Beauty files lawsuit to nullify Heard's petition for cancellation

Heard made multiple claims against Gomez's brand that included "priorities and likelihood of confusion," "no use of a mark in commerce before application," "amendment to allege use or statement of use was filed," "dilution by blurring," "deceptiveness," and "fraud on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ('USPTO')."

Heard claimed that Gomez had no intention of using the brand name when she filed for it in 2017, which blocked Heard from getting her brand trademarked. She also pointed to having suffered a loss due to the confusion over the similarity in the names.

Gomez's representatives have challenged the lawsuit, claiming that they had started working around the makeup brand since 2016 and the company “has invested a substantial amount of time, money, and effort to develop, secure, promote, and advertise cosmetics, beauty tools, clothing, accessories, and related products and services under the trademark RARE BEAUTY,” which launched in 2020.

They also disclosed that the trademark wasn't registered with any establishment prior to March 2017, and was not opposed by any third party, after being published by the USPTO before getting registered in December 2020.

The company representatives pointed out that the two brands use different sites and platforms to sell their products. They also target different customers, and are very dissimilar to get confused, affirming that they have coexisted comfortably for the past 2 years.

Rare Beauty had previously tried to settle the case out of court but couldn't agree to the terms set by Kesheena Heard. This resulted in the company filing a lawsuit, seeking the court to nullify the situation and affirm the validity of its trademark registration.