Hailey Bieber's Rhode faces lawsuit over trademark infringement

Following the launch of her highly anticipated skincare brand last week, Hailey Rhode Bieber is now facing a lawsuit from fashion label Rhode NYC over an alleged trademark infringement.

Yesterday, 21 June, a counsel representing the clothing brand, co-founded by Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers, issued a press statement regarding the news.

Lawyer Lisa Simpson, Lead Litigation Counsel to Rhode NYC and Partner at Orrick Herrington and SutCliffe LLP said: "Ms Bieber launched a beauty skincare line using the same exact brand as Rhode. She did this despite knowing of Rhode and its prior rights. Ms. Bieber tried to buy the RHODE mark from Rhode four years ago."

In the statement, Simpson acknowledges that 'Rhode' is Bieber’s legal middle name but added, "the law on this is clear: You can’t create this kind of brand confusion just because you want to use your name."

Rhode NYC Co-Founders Khatau and Vickers shared a joint statement on Instagram, which stated: "Nine years ago, we quit our jobs and founded Rhode out of our apartment, creating a fashion company from nothing. We’re two women entrepreneurs who met in college, built the RHODE brand, and put years of hard work into our minority co-owned company.

"Today, we were forced to file a lawsuit against Hailey Bieber and her new skincare line that launched last week and that is using the brand ‘rhode.’ We didn’t want to file this lawsuit, but we had to in order to protect our business.

"We admire Hailey. She has worked hard and earned the ability to create her own skincare line. We don’t want to sue Hailey; we want to celebrate her. As fellow women entrepreneurs, we wish her every success.

"Hailey could choose any brand for her skincare line. We have only the brand name “RHODE” that we’ve built. That’s why we didn’t sell her our brand when she asked four years ago, and why we ask her now to change her skincare line’s brand. Her using our brand is hurting our company, our employees, our customers, and our partners.

"We’re confident in the lawsuit’s outcome, but we hope Hailey will now understand the harm we’re sure she never meant to cause and change her skincare line’s brand. Thank you to everyone for valuing our vision and supporting us."

According to TMZ, a source from the Rhode beauty brand said that Bieber owns the trademark for skincare, while the fashion line Rhode holds the trademark for clothing. However, both Bieber and her brand, Rhode, are yet to release an official statement.