Small Business Owner Takes on L'Oréal in Trademark Dispute
A 49-year-old small business owner from Nottinghamshire, Rebecca Dowdeswell, is set to face off against cosmetics giant L'Oréal at an intellectual property tribunal next week. Dowdeswell has been embroiled in a three-year battle with the French company over trademark rights after it claimed her use of the name 'nkd' for her beauty business would cause "consumer confusion" with its Naked products.
The dispute centers on Dowdeswell's assertion that there is no evidence of any consumer confusion between her business and L'Oréal's. She argues that her products are focused on hair removal aftercare, whereas L'Oréal only uses the Naked brand name for a handful of eyeshadow palettes and other specific makeup items.
Dowdeswell has been forced to close one of her two salons as a result of the prolonged dispute, incurring over £30,000 in legal fees. She claims that this has had a devastating impact on her business, not just financially but also in terms of time and energy drained away from focusing on other aspects of her company.
A major concession by L'Oréal recently means that Dowdeswell's remaining salon will not need to be renamed, and she can continue to use the 'nkd' brand for some beauty services and products. However, the two sides remain in dispute over other issues.
Dowdeswell expressed anger at what she perceives as a deliberate attempt by L'Oréal to grind her down through legal expenses and keep her from pursuing the case further. She hopes that the tribunal will hold the company accountable for its actions.
The hearing is a significant test of small businesses against large corporations, highlighting issues of trademark disputes and intellectual property rights in the beauty industry.
A 49-year-old small business owner from Nottinghamshire, Rebecca Dowdeswell, is set to face off against cosmetics giant L'Oréal at an intellectual property tribunal next week. Dowdeswell has been embroiled in a three-year battle with the French company over trademark rights after it claimed her use of the name 'nkd' for her beauty business would cause "consumer confusion" with its Naked products.
The dispute centers on Dowdeswell's assertion that there is no evidence of any consumer confusion between her business and L'Oréal's. She argues that her products are focused on hair removal aftercare, whereas L'Oréal only uses the Naked brand name for a handful of eyeshadow palettes and other specific makeup items.
Dowdeswell has been forced to close one of her two salons as a result of the prolonged dispute, incurring over £30,000 in legal fees. She claims that this has had a devastating impact on her business, not just financially but also in terms of time and energy drained away from focusing on other aspects of her company.
A major concession by L'Oréal recently means that Dowdeswell's remaining salon will not need to be renamed, and she can continue to use the 'nkd' brand for some beauty services and products. However, the two sides remain in dispute over other issues.
Dowdeswell expressed anger at what she perceives as a deliberate attempt by L'Oréal to grind her down through legal expenses and keep her from pursuing the case further. She hopes that the tribunal will hold the company accountable for its actions.
The hearing is a significant test of small businesses against large corporations, highlighting issues of trademark disputes and intellectual property rights in the beauty industry.
they're all over the place with naked this and naked that... but seriously, it's so frustrating for small business owners like rebecca dowdeswell who are trying to run their businesses honestly 
she's already lost a salon and is still dealing with £30k in legal fees from l'oréal's "consumer confusion" claims 
what if they just leave her alone? 
The big players like L'Oréal need to take responsibility for their actions too. If they're gonna try to shut down a small business like hers, they should be prepared for some serious pushback 
. I feel bad for her that she had to close one of her salons and lose so much money 
.
You can watch the hearing live online if you're interested: 
l'oreal tryna crush some girl's business with their fancy lawyer moves! 
, she's been through this nightmare for three years already! 30k pounds in legal fees? That's insane 
. And it's sad that one of her salons had to close because of all this drama 
. I hope Rebecca gets some justice and can finally focus on running her business without all these trademark headaches 
this whole thing is just so unfair 
. The financial loss must be crippling, but also the stress and energy drained from dealing with all this drama 
. Fingers crossed the tribunal will see things from her perspective and give her some much-needed justice 
It's just not fair.
I mean, she's using a variation of the word 'naked' which isn't even used by L'Oréal for their makeup stuff... it's not like she's stealing their name or anything! 
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small biz owners are bein' pushed around by these big corps, but we gotta stand up for ourselves 
. I feel like L'Oréal is using their massive resources to just wear her down, not really caring about the impact it has on small businesses 
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it's just l'oreal being lazy with their trademark game 
this tribunal hearing is gonna be so interesting 
hopefully dowdeswell gets some justice and l'oreal learns to share the beauty market 
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And it's not just about the cash - closing one of her salons must've been really tough for her business and her team. 
Hasn't L'Oréal just tried to drive her out of business with all these legal fees? That's not exactly fair, you know? 
? It's just so frustrating! I can imagine how draining it must be to close down one of her salons and take on that much debt 
. It makes me wonder what kind of system we have in place to protect entrepreneurs like Rebecca who are just trying to make a living