About Hailey Beiber
Hailey Bieber and her beauty brand Rhode are trekking ahead of their legal battle.On June 21, only days after the launch of Bieber’s debut skincare line, the model, 25, was sued for trademark infringement by a clothing brand of the same name (though stylized as RHODE).
RHODE cofounders Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for a preliminary injunction ordering Bieber to stop using “Rhode” for her brand, according to documents provided to PEOPLE. They also asked her to change the name of her brand, as per a statement given to PEOPLE.
About the case
New York-based clothing store Rhode-NYC, LLC filed a lawsuit against Justin Bieber, alleging trademark infringement and unfair market competition.
The lawsuit claims Bieber’s health and skincare product line has unlawfully adopted and used its trademarked name, jeopardizing its reputation and market presence. Rhode-NYC, LLC, created in 2014 by Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers, has been adopted by luxury retailers and celebrities like Vogue and Beyoncé. The dispute began when Bieber launched her skincare line in 2022, leveraging her global fanbase.
Rhode-NYC, LLC refused Bieber’s offer and filed two applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the intent to use the Rhode trademark as a word mark and logo for skincare products only. Rhode-NYC, LLC fears that Bieber’s rumored expansion into apparel could further weaken its brand identity and jeopardize its potential for collaborations and market opportunities.
The judge ruled against injunctive relief, and Rhode-NYC dropped the goods listed in Bieber’s cancellation bid. Rhode and Bieber settled the lawsuit, possibly agreeing to a co-existence agreement.
The lawsuit emphasizes the importance of intellectual property protection in the fashion and beauty industries but also warns of a potential trend in which junior trademark users are capturing trademark rights through federal registration, making reverse confusion easier.
The fashion brand Rhode has been in business for nearly a decade and carries everything from dresses to matching sets and more. Celebrities like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Busy Phillips, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Khloé Kardashian have worn Rhode’s various designs in the past.
The Los Angeles-based clothing retailer concluded its statement this week by saying it is “confident in the lawsuit’s outcome,” but hopes Bieber will “now understand the harm we’re sure she never meant to cause and change her skin-care line’s brand.”
Conclusion
In the filing made last month, Khatau said she and Vickers have “dedicated ourselves to growing and nurturing the RHODE brand through much personal sacrifice and hardship,” since founding the company in May 2013.
She also stated that they are looking to expand their RHODE trademark, which they own, to makeup and skincare and have already filed applications for household items. The name is currently used for clothing and accessories.
The complaint expressed concerns over both of the brand’s Instagram handles as well, alleging that shoppers have tagged Bieber’s @rhode Instagram instead of RHODE’s @shoprhode when sharing photos of celebrities wearing the clothing line.
Allegedly, the former handle was promised to the fashion designers since it was “dormant per Instagram policy, but after initially promising it to us, Instagram decided to allow Ms. Bieber to use it even though it had no posts until June 8, 2022.”
On the day of the lawsuit’s release, Khatau and Vickers shared a statement on the brand’s Instagram, writing, “Today, we were forced to file a lawsuit against Hailey Bieber and her new skin-care line that launched last week and that is using the brand ‘rhode.’ We didn’t want to file this lawsuit, but we had to protect our business.”
They added that they “admire” Bieber and would rather “celebrate” her accomplishment, noting however that her skincare brand is “hurting our company, our employees, our customers, and our partners.”
