Artist seeks cancellation of Frida Kahlo TM
An artist has sued the company which claims to own the trademark rights to Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s name and image.
In the suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado on Wednesday, June 5, Nina Shope claimed that the Frida Kahlo Corporation (FKC) had several of her hand-crafted dolls of Kahlo removed from online marketplace Etsy.
Shope claimed that a company representing relatives of Frida Kahlo, rather than FKC, is the rightful owner of the trademark rights.
“According to the family, any [previous] transfer of rights to FKC was not a complete transfer; allegedly FKC and the family were supposed to work together, to mutually approve of any products bearing Frida Kahlo’s name and image,” Shope’s lawsuit said.
The lawsuit is the latest example of a dispute over trademarks and image rights related to the late artist. Last week, WIPR reported that FKC had sued VersaLicensing, which was authorised to licence the rights by Familia Kahlo, a company representing descendants of the late artist.
The split between relatives of Kahlo and FKC arose when, according to FKC, a daughter of Kahlo’s niece and former FKC director became “disaffected” with the company and established Familia Kahlo to manage the trademark rights.
In a statement sent to WIPR, Familia Kahlo said that it was “the only true and legitimate holder of the Frida Kahlo trademark rights and has expressly revoked the authorization to use Frida Kahlo’s trademark and image to Frida Kahlo Corporation”.
Familia Kahlo also confirmed that it had authorised VersaLicensing to use the “FK” trademark, which FKC claims to own, in Mexico.
Shope is now seeking a declaration that her hand-crafted dolls do not constitute infringement. The American artist is also claiming that her use of Kahlo’s image constituted fair use, as it was necessary to identify the doll as the historical figure of Frida Kahlo.
In a statement, FKC claimed that it too was the owner of the Frida Kahlo trademarks.
A representative from FKC told WIPR the company had made a "significant investment in protecting the Frida Kahlo legacy, brand and trademarks".
The representative added: “We are prepared to vigorously defend our IP and trademarks whenever our rights have been violated, and to stop any confusion that may be created in the market by such infringing activity.”
She argued that she used “only so much of the mark as was reasonably necessary to identify her dolls” as depicting Kahlo, and did not suggest sponsorship or endorsement by FKC.
Shope is also seeking cancellation of FKC’s trademark related to the use of Kahlo’s image in dolls (US number 3326314).
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