Hear Hard Candy Roar – Sues Over CoverGirl Katy Perry Makeup Line
Hard Candy, LLC (“Hard Candy”) sued The Procter & Gamble Company (“P&G”), parent company to CoverGirl in the federal district court of Florida for 1) federal trademark infringement, 2) federal unfair competition, 3) common law trademark infringement, and 4) common law unfair competition over the alleged infringing design of Katy Perry’s makeup line with CoverGirl. Hard Candy alleges that P&G copied Hard Candy’s registered design marks in a confusingly similar manner.
Although Hard Candy did not specifically state what aspect of the Katy Perry CoverGirl makeup line infringes upon its design marks, it appears that Hard Candy is claiming that the logos/marks (capitalized words in black before and after a black heart shape) are similar in their overall design. See examples below.
Hard Candy cited the following three (3) registered design marks in support of its complaint against P&G:
In support of its argument that the Katy Perry CoverGirl makeup line is likely to cause confusion among consumers, Hard Candy alleges that they sell the same or similar products (cosmetics) and offer these products in the same channel of trade at similar price points to similar target customers. Hard Candy may also argue that the black heart shape design is the dominant feature of the marks and similar (if not identical) in both marks.
While these factors are strong ammunition against Katy Perry/CoverGirl, it may be difficult for Hard Candy to argue that the overall commercial impressions are similar. For instance, the font and words before and after the black heart shape design look and sound different. As a self-proclaimed make-up lover, I personally would not be confused by the design marks, especially if the CoverGirl logo is used in connection with the Katy Perry name and the black heart shape design. Both Katy Perry and CoverGirl have established their own brand for years and also have successfully campaigned together to promote this makeup line, which further differentiates themselves from other makeup lines. Nonetheless, it will be interesting as to how each paints the other.