ZARA denies infringing Estée Lauder’s Jo Malone trademark

ZARA has denied infringing Estée Lauder’s Jo Malone London trademark, arguing in UK High Court filings that its use of perfumer Jo Malone’s name on fragrances sold through its collaboration with Jo Loves is consistent with principles outlined by Estée Lauder in 2020.

The Estée Lauder Companies acquired Malone’s original brand, Jo Malone London, in 1999, including rights to use her name commercially. Malone left the business in 2006 and later launched Jo Loves in 2011. In recent years, she has collaborated with ZARA on fragrance collections.

The legal dispute centres on the appearance of the name “Jo Malone” on packaging for Jo Loves fragrances sold through ZARA, including the wording: “A creation by Jo Malone CBE, founder of Jo Loves”.

According to court filings from ZARA owner Inditex (ITX), seen by Reuters, Estée Lauder first raised concerns in August 2020 regarding the use of “Jo Malone” in a post on ZARA's official Weibo account in China. ITX said Estée Lauder’s lawyers later stated in October 2020 that the usage fell within the permitted scope.

It also said Estée Lauder’s legal team outlined principles for how ZARA could refer to Malone, advising the company to use terms such as “Jo Malone CBE”, “Ms Jo Malone”, “Ms Malone” or “Jo” in order to distinguish the individual from the Jo Malone London brand. The guidance also stated that she should not be referred to as the founder of the Jo Malone fragrance brand.

ITX argued that the wording currently used on ZARA's website and fragrance packaging complies with those principles. Product descriptions now read: “In collaboration with perfumer Ms. Jo Malone CBE, founder of Jo Loves”.

The company also rejected Estée Lauder’s allegation of “passing off” - the practice of misleading consumers into believing goods or services are associated with another business - and disputed the lawsuit’s description of the fragrances as “budget” products.

In an earlier statement, an Estée Lauder spokesperson said the company had invested significantly in building Jo Malone London into a globally recognised brand over the past 25 years. The spokesperson added that, when Malone sold the business, she agreed to contractual terms restricting the use of her name in certain commercial contexts, including fragrance marketing, and was compensated accordingly.

The statement continued: “We respect Ms. Malone’s right to pursue new opportunities. But legally binding contractual obligations cannot be disregarded, and when those terms are breached, we will protect the brand that we have invested in and built over decades.”

Malone addressed the issue in an Instagram Reel posted on 8 April, saying she was “surprised and very sad” to receive the High Court claim. She confirmed that a legal defence was being prepared and said she intended to contest the case. 

In a statement released today, Malone reiterated that intention. “Estée Lauder cannot stop me being Jo Malone, the well-known perfumer and personality with my own goodwill and reputation," she said.

"Whilst I sold the company called Jo Malone London Limited and the trademark JO MALONE to Estée Lauder 27 years ago, I obviously did not sell my own name. The contract with Estée Lauder allowed me to use my own name in a personal capacity, which I have been doing for JO LOVES for 15 years.

"The collaboration with Zara has been running for seven years and the packaging does nothing more than identify me, Jo Malone CBE and founder of JO LOVES, as the perfumer. Estée Lauder are trying to stop me identifying myself as Jo Malone even in circumstances where it is clearly in a personal capacity. For that reason, I am defending the High Court claim."