Chicago-based tech company Vibes Media is suing Kim Kardashian West’s company KKW Fragrance, alleging that it has copied Vibes' trademarked logo.
The federal lawsuit, filed July 18, alleges that a KKW Fragrance perfume bottle too closely resembles Vibes’ logo and that it is “highly likely” consumers will think the perfume is affiliated with the Vibes brand.
Vibes first began using its logo, a black chat bubble with its company name, in January 2011, and filed a trademark application for it in April 2012, according to the lawsuit. Vibes was then issued a registration number for the logo in June 2013. The tech company declined to comment for this story, saying that it "does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings." And KKW Fragrance did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.
The KKW Fragrance bottle, which hit the market July 17, also looks like a speech bubble but says “VIBES” in all capital letters.
“There is a strong likelihood that consumers will be confused into believing that [KKW Fragrance’s] Vibes perfume is [Vibes’] product or that it is authorized, endorsed, sponsored, or approved by [Vibes],” the lawsuit says. “On information and belief, [KKW Fragrance] has intentionally copied the registered Vibes logo in order to improperly and unfairly trade on the substantial goodwill that [Vibes] has achieved through its marketing efforts and years of customer satisfaction.”
In the lawsuit, Vibes also says that images used on KKW’s social media channels and fragrance packaging infringes on Vibes’ rights to its trademarked logo.
Vibes, founded in 1998, is a mobile marketing agency that helps brands reach customers on mobile devices through a variety of products and services, such as text messages, mobile wallet marketing, push notifications and more. Besides Chicago, Vibes has offices in San Francisco, Miami and London.
In 2016, the company raised $45 million, and shortly after, acquired Miami-based Red Fish Media, a mobile marketing and digital solutions company. Now, according to Crunchbase, Vibes has $60 million in total funding.
