Indie beauty brand Luscious Cosmetics — which started in 2006 and has grown to become a household name in Pakistan, Dubai and beyond for its vegan and cruelty free products — has allegedly been facing aggressive pressure from the UK based bath bomb giant Lush to completely change their brand name, a beauty business insider tells us.
Ever since they successfully entered the US beauty market and applied for their trademark, Luscious Cosmetics has been pursued by Lush’s lawyers threatening legal action and suing for damages unless they completely change their brand name and drop the word Luscious, a word that Lush has no claim to or trademark for, records show.
It appears that Lush and its parent company Cosmetic Warriors have a pattern of threatening smaller, indie brands with expensive legal action claiming trademark infringement and demands for damages, leading to their shutting down completely. Last month, Pinkette Clothing Inc, a clothing company in Los Angeles, won their trademark case against Cosmetic Warriors, who claimed the apparel maker was infringing on their trademark, Lush, being used on Pinkette’s clothing. The smaller brand won their case by arguing that Lush does not sell any products in the clothing category.
It is interesting that this type of trademark bullying has yet gone unnoticed by the beauty industry at large. The line between trademark enforcement and trademark bullying seems to be blurring as beauty companies try to keep as many potential competitors out of the market as possible.
Lush has has its share of bad press lately, admitting to a “significant error†in underpaying employees in Australia to the tune of AUD$2 million. Watch this space as the story unfolds.
