No 'off the scale' cost award for nkd boss in trademark battle with L'Oréal

COSMETICS GIANT REDUCED ITS CLAIM AT THE LAST MINUTE

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

THE owner of a beauty business will not be awarded any “off the scale” costs following a lengthy trademark battle with cosmetics giant L’Oréal.

The dispute has been ongoing between Rebecca Dowdeswell, owner of waxing business nkd, and the French cosmetics giant since 2022.

Ms Dowdeswell, from Radcliffe, opened her business called nkd in 2009 with two salons - one in Nottingham and one in Leicester.

Her business has taken a big hit, which included the closure of the Nottingham salon on Pelham Street, after a legal fight started in September 2022, when the beauty giant opposed Ms Dowdeswell’s attempts to renew her trademark.

This is due to Urban Decay, a LOréal brand, having a range of makeup called NAKED, with the French brand claiming Ms Dowdeswell’s use of the name nkd would cause “consumer confusion’, despite the two names being spelt and pronounced differently.

An Intellectual Property Office (IPO) hearing held on Wednesday was told that Ms Dowdeswell will not be awarded any extra compensation. A submission was made to the tribunal by trademark attorney Aaron Wood, who is representing Ms Dowdeswell, for the costs to be awarded as LOréal had further reduced the scope of its opposition on the morning of the hearing.

Mr Wood said: “LOréal have changed their position at the last minute and today, in front of you, have sought to suggest that they are good guys, that all of this is completely acceptable and that you can run an argument which you don’t intend to take to hearing simply for tactical reasons. There is clearly a litany of issues in the way they've run their case.”