Kim Kardashian West has won close to $2.8 million from the
fast fashion company Missguided in a lawsuit claiming that the company used her
“persona and trademarks” to sell replicas of her outfits, in part by continually
tagging her on Instagram.
The issue of whether Missguided’s Instagram behavior
violated trademark law was never actually litigated, though: the company just
didn’t respond to her lawsuit, leading to a loss. In a default judgment last
night, a California judge ordered Missguided to pay Kardashian West $2.7
million in damages and $59,600 in attorney fees. She also ordered the company
to cease using Kardashian West’s trademarks in connection with the “sale,
marketing, or distribution of its products.”
Kardashian West’s original lawsuit made the argument that
Missguided profited off of her brand and likeness. The suit included images
from Missguided’s website and Instagram that depicted Kardashian West and her
outfits. In one example, customers could click on photos of her and be taken to
a Missguided page selling a similar look.
“Missguided’s use of Plaintiffs’ marks is likely to cause
consumers to mistakenly believe that Plaintiffs are associated with Missguided,
or that they sponsor or endorse Missguided and its websites,” the lawsuit
states. “And in fact, consumers have already expressed such confusion,
suggesting in social media posts and online articles that Plaintiffs must be in
a ‘collaboration’ with Missguided.”
It’s unclear why Missguided never responded to Kardashian
West’s lawsuit, but it has since deleted an image of her from its Instagram.
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