Cheeky beauty and fashion startup wins major IP case over embattled french luxury brand.
(YourDigitalWall Editorial):- Fairfax, California May 4, 2023 (Issuewire.com) – Bootie Labs LLC, the firm behind the Bootie Babe® lifestyle brand is claiming victory over a trademark dispute brought on by The Kering Group, owner of luxury fashion brand Balenciaga.
The dispute arose over the registration of the BB logo that Bootie Labs uses on all of its product designs.
In December 2022 the law firm representing Balenciaga (Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck) filed an extension to oppose this mark and another in March 2023 (Balenciaga also has a registered BB logo they have been relentless in protecting for decades).
Bootie Labs and the law firm were engaged in negotiations for the last month but unfortunately could not reach a settlement.
Mookie O’Hara, founder and creative director gave his version of events:
“First they said they wanted me to withdraw my applications without any compensation in return. Then they issued a veiled threat about having resources outside of the trademark courts to fight me with.”
“As another tactic, they mentioned that if I hired a lawyer to defend me it would cost over $100K and take up to two years.”
“When I resisted these efforts they asked me what would make me feel “comfortable” and I gave them several options including acquiring or investing in my brand and IP.”
The law firm requested that O’Hara refrain from posting about this story or any conversations during the negotiation as a token of good faith and he obliged.
After four weeks of no response or offer, Mookie responded to their complacency by filing a Declaration of Incontestability with the USPTO.
Doing so provides additional IP protection and exclusive use of his BB logo for any class of goods or services.
O’Hara considers this a major win for his brand:
“To me, it’s like owning the rights to the Apple logo or the SuperMan S emblem – it’s absolutely critical for an emerging brand to have.”
He sees this as an epic David vs. Goliath battle that the little guy rarely wins:
“I was just reading about the Australian designer Katie Perry’s win over the singer Katy Perry and that victory took 15 years. Hopefully, these outcomes will show the world that indie designers can protect their IP and fight back against massive brands and celebrities who think they can push us around and use their vast wealth and powerful legal teams to fight for years if necessary to try and defeat us.”
Bootie Labs LLC is interested in leveraging its newly expanded IP and developing many new product lines through licensing or partnerships with multi-brand owners such as LVMH, The Levy Group, Beach House Group, and others.
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