Kim Kardashian issued with cease-and-desist by rival beauty brand over the use of 'SKKN'

Kim Kardashian - who's currently in the process of relaunching her makeup brand KKW Beauty, which includes a name change - has been issued with a cease-and-desist by rival beauty brand after she filed a trademark for the name 'SKKN by Kim'.

After the makeup mogul filed to trademark both SKKN and SKKN by KIM, her legal team received a cease and desist letter from Beauty Concepts LLC, owned by Cydnie Lunsford, who claim they’ve already locked down the name 'SKKN' for salon, skincare and spa services.

The company also said they applied to trademark the SKKN+ name on March 28, just days before Kim Kardashian filed her own trademark on March 30.

“I have painstakingly built my successful small business with my own sweat equity, hard work, and research,” said Lunsford, a 28-year-old aesthetician and entrepreneur, who also operates social media accounts under the SKKN+ name. 

“It’s clear that I established my brand first.”

Michael G. Rhodes, Kardashian’s attorney, told TMZ, “We certainly appreciate and support small businesses, and our hat is off to Ms. Lunsford. But the question at hand is one of trademark law and we’ve not done anything deserving of legal action by her.”

He added, “We are disappointed that she has chosen to run to the media knowing that we were scheduling a call for tomorrow, requested by her attorney. So while disagreeing with the letter, we’re hopeful that we can smooth things over once both sides speak.”