Kylie Minogue Said Her Trademark Battle With Kylie Jenner ‘Was Something That Had to Be Done’
The OG Kylie talked about the legal fight during a Watch What Happens Live appearance.
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During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Princess of Pop Kylie Minogue fielded questions about a throwback legal battle: her 2016 trademark fight with Kylie Jenner, which was instigated by Jenner’s frankly rude attempt to trademark the first name the two women share.
Long before the Kardashians were reshaping celebrity culture in their image, Kylie Minogue had a capital-B Brand. She’s sold 80 million albums over the course of her career and is the first woman to have number one albums in the UK in five different decades. So it wasn’t exactly surprising that, when the upstart Kylie of the Jenner clan attempted to trademark the name, Minogue’s legal team stepped in and tried to put the kibosh on the plan.
“It was just business, obviously,” Minogue said on WWHL. She also pointed out that, before her, there weren’t a whole lot of Kylies running around: “When I was named Kylie… I think I’ve met one person older than me called Kylie, so it’s kind of unusual,” she added. “I’ve spent a lifetime protecting my brand and building my brand, so it was just something that had to be done.” Cohen responded to Minogue’s professional savvy with a high-five.
But back when the legal battle was raging, Minogue’s lawyers weren’t quite so polite. In filings contesting Jenner’s attempt to trademark the name, the singer noted that she’d owned the URL www.Kylie.com since 1996, and called Jenner a “secondary reality television personality” who’d been criticized for “photographic exhibitionism and controversial posts” on social media platforms. In 2017, the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected Jenner’s bid to trademark the name.
Minogue also seemingly implied that she and Jenner had reached a legal settlement, adding, “Let me also say, we came to an agreement.” It’s this kind of business acumen that’s allowed her to pave the way for generations of Kylies to come!
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