Kylie Jenner Discloses How Trademark Clash with Kylie Minogue Threatened Her Business Empire
Reality television star and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner has revealed how a copyright dispute with Australian singer Kylie Minogue could have completely derailed her entire business empire. The influencer, aged twenty-eight, also shared the stern advice her mother Kris Jenner provided during the challenging period.
The Trademark Application and Legal Rejection
In April 2014, Kylie Jenner applied to trademark the name "Kylie" for her clothing and cosmetic businesses in the United States. However, after intervention by Kylie Minogue's legal representatives, the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected the application. This decision sparked a legal battle between the two parties, though it ultimately stopped short of proceeding to court after both sides reached a mutual agreement.
Despite this significant setback at the time, Kylie Jenner pressed ahead with launching her beauty brand using the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars she had saved from her modelling and television work. She risked everything on this venture, demonstrating remarkable determination and business acumen.
Kris Jenner's Stern Warning and Business Launch
In an interview with Vanity Fair's Spring issue, where she appears on the cover, Kylie Jenner disclosed the stern warning her mother Kris gave her. She recalled her mother saying, "You are going to be left with lots of lip kits in your garage if this doesn't work out." Kylie responded with unwavering confidence, stating, "And it wasn't even a thought that it wasn't going to work out."
She launched her makeup line in 2015 by selling twenty-nine dollar lipstick kits, beginning what would become a billion-dollar beauty empire. The initial investment represented approximately half of her total savings at the time, making it a particularly risky entrepreneurial move.
Kylie Minogue's Perspective on the Dispute
In 2018, Kylie Minogue addressed the trademark battle with Rolling Stone magazine, insisting the conflict was "nothing personal at all." The Australian singer clarified, "I've never met Kylie Jenner. I've never met any member of the family - actually, I've met Kendall just in passing at a fashion event - but I honestly don't know them."
Minogue explained the business rationale behind her legal position, stating, "Trademark is long, it's boring, it's expensive, and it's really important. I've been doing that for years and years. It was just causing confusion with customers. As long as it's clear, then we can all win."
The Rise of a Beauty Empire
Kylie Jenner, the youngest and wealthiest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family, famously achieved billionaire status in March 2019. In 2020, she became Forbes' youngest "self-made" billionaire for the second consecutive year, marking an extraordinary business achievement.
In November 2023, she sold fifty-one percent of her Kylie Cosmetics brand to beauty conglomerate Coty Inc. for six hundred million dollars. This transaction values her business at approximately 1.2 billion dollars, with Jenner retaining sole ownership of the remaining forty-nine percent stake.
Vanity Fair Feature and Personal Revelations
Appearing in the Spring issue of Vanity Fair, Kylie Jenner posed for what many consider her most provocative photo shoot to date. The images feature her topless while lying on a bed, modestly covering herself with her hands. The cover shot shows her smoking alongside the suggestive tagline "Kylie on top," while additional photographs depict her wearing nothing but a cape and high heels.
In the accompanying interview, the mother of two - who shares daughter Stormi, aged seven, and son Aire with musician Travis Scott, aged thirty-four - revealed her desire for more children. Currently in a relationship with Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet, aged thirty, who has previously expressed his own desire to become a father, Jenner stated, "In the last years of my 20s, I want to focus on just me, my businesses, my work, travelling with my kids, enjoying my kids, and then... I do want to have more kids."
