New Delhi: Years after entering into – and winning – a legal dispute with reality TV star Kylie Jenner, singer Kylie Minogue has shared her thoughts regarding the trademark battle. In 2017, Ms Minogue successfully prevented Ms Jenner from trademarking their shared first name “Kylie” for her then-soon-to-launched beauty brand.
While the beauty brand has gone to earn tremendous profits for The Kardashians star, their shared first name firmly remains non-proprietary even today, thanks to Ms Minogue.
On Tuesday, during her appearance at Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the pop star addressed her decision to formally block Kylie Jenner from trademarking the name when asked by a fan. The 54-year-old laughed before saying, “It was just business, obviously.”
Speaking to host Andy Cohen, Ms Minogue said, “Look, when I was named Kylie, I think I met one person older than me called Kylie. So it's kind of unusual.”
She further explained that she had spent an entire lifetime protecting and building her brand of which her name is an essential part. “So it was just something that had to be done," she said, returning Mr Cohen's high-five.
Ms Minogue also added that the two parties had come “to an agreement.” Then, Mr Cohen asked, “Did you have to call Kris Jenner and be like 'Let me tell you something?'” Smiling at this, Ms Minogue replied, “No, but I'd love to meet them.”
According to a report by People, Kylie Jenner first moved to trademark her name for "advertising" and "endorsement services” in 2014 ahead of the launch of Kylie Cosmetics.
Ms Minogue filed a lawsuit within a few months and claimed that given their shared first name such a trademark could potentially harm the pop singer's brand. Her lawsuit also noted that the singer-songwriter had been selling clothes and perfumes, among other products marketed with her first name on the website "Kylie.com" since August 1996. This made the singer's website one year older than Ms Jenner, who was born in 1997.
In 2017, the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected Ms Jenner's trademark application.
Now, Kylie Jenner has her own thriving beauty brand called Kylie Cosmetics, while Kylie Minogue also launched her own makeup brand – Kylie – in 2019.