BBCA salon proprietor says she has been left exhausted by a long-running authorized battle with world cosmetics big L’Oréal.
The French agency is opposing Rebecca Dowdeswell’s try to renew the trademark on the title of her enterprise – nkd – in Leicester metropolis centre.
L’Oréal has its personal trademark on a sequence of magnificence merchandise referred to as NAKED and has informed the 48-year-old her use of the title nkd would trigger “client confusion”.
Ms Dowdeswell stated she had spent greater than £30,000 contesting L’Oréal’s opposition to her trademark software.
The mom of two, from Radcliffe-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, stated the strain attributable to the dispute had been a consider her downsizing her enterprise and shutting a salon she beforehand ran in Nottingham.
L’Oréal informed the BBC it had made Ms Dowdeswell a suggestion “that helps her enterprise aspirations”.
Nonetheless she disputed that, claiming the agency had continued to oppose her trademark software to register nkd as a trademark for toiletries.
Mrs Dowdeswell registered nkd as a trademark when she launched her enterprise in 2009, however stated her issues started when that expired 10 years later.
She stated she had a six-month window to resume it however forgot to.
“I ought to have renewed it immediately. I did not. That was a giant mistake,” she stated.
“That six-month window bumped into the beginning of Covid and chaos ensued for all companies – together with magnificence salons -and I missed the expiry.
“After I got here to re-register the trademark, I used to be primarily ranging from scratch, not renewing an current one.
“L’Oréal objected on the idea they owned the City Decay make-up model which has a spread of eye shadow palettes referred to as Bare.
“I used to be very shocked as a result of we’ve by no means been Bare. We’re spelled NKD, we’re pronounced N, Okay, D.”
‘David v Goliath’
Ms Dowdeswell added: “There has by no means been any proof of client confusion. In 15 years of buying and selling, no-one has ever stated ‘are you an identical model as Bare by City Decay?’
“I’ve spent two years negotiating with them attempting to come back to a co-existence settlement the place they will keep on buying and selling as Bare with their make-up and we will keep on as nkd in our very tight sphere of waxing and hair removing.
“That is David versus Goliath and admittedly it has been horrible, exhausting and actually irritating.
“I’ve now racked up over £30,000 plus VAT in authorized prices defending myself. I do not know whether or not it was the correct factor to do.
“What I do know is that I couldn’t simply have walked away from my model when L’Oréal disputed it. I might spent 13 years of my life pouring the whole lot increase this model.”
A spokesperson for L’Oréal stated: “We’re wholly dedicated to resolving any misunderstanding there may need been with Rebecca Dowdeswell.
“From the start of our exchanges together with her attorneys in 2022, we’ve communicated a suggestion that helps her enterprise aspirations while respecting our longstanding trademark rights.
“We sit up for resolving this matter in a mutually agreeable means.”
If the matter is just not resolved, Ms Dowdeswell stated it will be determined by a judgement from the federal government’s Mental Property Workplace.
Ms Dowdeswell stated she believed that might occur in 2025.
Observe BBC Leicester on Fb, on X, or on Instagram. Ship your story concepts to [email protected] or through WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.
