Navigating beauty trademarks: How to keep your brand on the right side of the law

Published: 4-Aug-2020
Regulatory

Every week new cosmetics launches hit the market. From celebrities to conglomerates and newcomers, today everyone wants a slice of the beauty pie. But competition raises the stakes and having the right protections can prove crucial

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What do Victoria Beckham, Idris Elba and Kanye West all have in common? Beyond being instantly recognisable and enviably wealthy, all three celebrities have filed for cosmetic product trademarks in recent years, with the intention of protecting beauty launches, product names and branding from opportunistic copycats.

While high profile filings tend to capture media headlines – consumers are always keen to know what their favourite A-listers might be plotting next – in reality these filings are a speck in the ocean of tens of thousands of applications made by individuals, start-ups, international conglomerates and other legal entities every year.

In the UK in 2019, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) reported 107,526 trademark applications,

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  • Companies:
  • Mary Kay Group
  • Ulta Beauty
  • Kylie Cosmetics
  • GOV.UK
  • Victoria Beckham Beauty
  • Seyfarth Shaw
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