Khloe Kardashian lawyers up in copyright infringement dispute

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jun 16, 2017

Khloe Kardashian's Good American brand is being accused of making a crystal covered bodysuit that copies a similar style the celebrity purchased from a designer Destiney Bleu.

Destiney Bleu began her business on Etsy. She has designed for Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. She now does over $650,000 annually in sales.

The specific piece at the crux of the dispute is a bodysuit made by Destiney Bleu. Good American made its own crystal bodysuit, which it claims is inspired by fashion and music history. Specific performers Good American references for its inspiration are Cher, Diana Ross and Britney Spears.

Good American is known as a denim brand. Destiney Bleu has designed for performers and entertainers. The inspiration reference given by Good American does raise some questions about where the design actually came from.

The controversy became known to the public on June 2 when Destiney Bleu tweeted a video promoting Kardashian's Good American version of the embellished bodysuit. Destiney Bleu captioned it by saying "When someone buys 1 of everything on your site, has you make them custom @dbleudazzled work, never posts it or wears it, then copies it."

Last week, attorneys for Destiney Bleu sent Good American an extremely long cease and desist letter. The 27-page letter included what will likely become exhibits in an upcoming lawsuit.

The attachments showed correspondence between the brand and Kardashian's assistant and stylist. Beginning in November 2016, Kardashian's team reached out to Destiney Bleu for a look book. Over the next six months, they allegedly ordered thousands of dollars of product from the Dbleudazzled line of crystal embellished bodywear.

This week, Kardashian responded to the cease and desist letter. In the June 13 reply, her attorney Mark Singer called the copyright infringement allegations an "absolute lie" and that it was motivated by Destiney Bleu wanting her "15 minutes of fame."

Kardashian's attorney has threatened they will take legal action for defamation and for "misleading the public" if Destiney Bleu does not stop using Khloe's image for publicity.

So far Good American is losing the publicity war on social media. The brand's Instagram channel show a lot of backlash from consumers. Comments include "not buying it" and "I hope your business goes under".

Meanwhile, Destiney Bleu followers are showing an outpouring of support with comments such as "Thank you for standing up not only for yourself but also for all indie designers" and that they hope "she gets her justice."

No official lawsuit has been filed yet.