Owner of salon takes on L'Oréal in row over trademark

A small business owner is preparing to face down the cosmetics giant L'Oréal at a tribunal over a trademark dispute she says has had a devastating impact on her.

- Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspodent

Rebecca Dowdeswell, 49, from Nottinghamshire, has been fighting the French company for three years after it claimed her business's use of the name nkd would cause “consumer confusion” with its range of Naked beauty products.

Dowdeswell has closed one of her two nkd salons and has run up over £30,000 in legal fees battling the £170bn company, which has hired the top law firm Baker McKenzie.

Before the intellectual property office (IPO) tribunal, which will take place on Wednesday, she said: “There’s never been any question or any evidence of any consumer confusion. From my perspective, we operate in very different sections of the beauty market. I only have an interest in waxing and hair removal.