Vlada Haggerty targets Guess in latest lip art lawsuit
Makeup artist Vlada Haggerty has accused American fashion retailer Guess of using her artwork on clothing without permission.
The Ukrainian makeup artist filed her copyright infringement lawsuit (pdf) at the US District Court for the Central District of California on Friday, September 14.
According to the complaint, “Haggerty is especially well-known for her works of lip art, which feature close-up photographs of lips decorated with unique makeup designs” and is the founder of Vladamua, a provider of high-quality makeup application and photography services, based in California.
The suit said that one of Haggerty’s most popular works is a photo of liquid gold lip art, published in 2015 on Instagram and covered by a pending copyright application (1-6076941067).
Haggerty said that her gold lip art has appeared in a number of beauty and fashion publications since 2015, including Reginery29, Teen Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar.
The makeup artist accused Guess of “illegally and intentionally” misappropriating this lip art by incorporating the image onto clothing such as t-shirts.
Haggerty claimed that she sent the fashion retailer a notice of copyright infringement and demand letter in August, but Guess replied last week to “vigorously deny” that its clothing infringes Haggerty’s copyright.
The makeup artist has asked the court for an injunction as well as statutory damages, actual damages for infringement, profits, and attorneys’ fees.
This is not the first time that Haggerty has taken action to protect her lip art.
Last month, Haggerty and LVMH’s (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) cosmetics brand Make Up For Ever announced that they had ended their trademark and copyright dispute over ‘dripping’ lip imagery. Haggerty had accused the French brand of copying her lip art in a newly-adopted logo.
Haggerty also threatened Kylie Jenner with legal action over her lip art in 2016. She said Jenner’s makeup branding imagery, which included red lip art covered by gold hands, had been copied from Haggerty’s Instagram account. They settled their differences in January 2017.
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