When you hear the name “Kylie,” who comes to mind? If it were up to Kylie Jenner, the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, it would be her. However, when you hear the name “Kylie” your first thought may be Australian pop artist Kylie Minogue. The question of who is “Kylie” is now up to the US Trademark Office.
According to the Washington Post, Jenner filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Kylie” so that she can further protect (capitalize) her advertising and endorsement deals. Once Minogue caught wind of this, she hired Melbourne-based business, KDB, to file an opposition to prevent Jenner’s motion, on grounds that it would cause confusion and dilute Minogue’s established brand. Minogue’s opposition notice contains evidence that she has been referred to simply as “Kylie” in her professional capacity since before Jenner was born, that she owns the domain www.kylie.com, and that she has created numerous logos for her brands using the moniker “Kylie,” without referencing her last name.
In a very Kardashian-esque style, the feud has now entered the Twittersphere and has sparked fierce battles between members of Team Jenner and Team Minogue. Shortly after filing her objection with the Trademark Office, Minogue took to her various social media accounts to “throw shade” and “diss” Jenner by calling her a “secondary reality television personality” whose Instagram posts have been denounced by numerous Disability Rights and African American communities. While Jenner has yet to respond herself, this Twitter War is far from reaching its zenith, with both sides claiming the superior argument. As the Washington Post explained, “though the battle will be fought on paper in a federal building in Alexandria, Va., blood may flow before either the teenage reality star or the 47-year-old Australian singer and entrepreneur falls.”
Loren Shokes is an Entertainment and Sports Highlight Contributor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and a current second year student at Harvard Law School (Class of 2017).