The Ed.
Well-Known Member
If it's not the ongoing saga that has been Addlington-gate (it was Minx, OK?) then it's nail brands and bloggers going head to head over that manicure fad that looks like fish eggs. You know the one, with the little balls? Yes, the Caviar Manicure. There, I said it.
Welcome to the warring worlds of claiming rights to nail looks. Good lord, is it a messy one! The nutshell version of the current battle looks a little something like this.
It's 2010 and Patti Yankee comes up with the phrase 'caviar manicure' as testified to by beauty bloggers all over the world. In 2011 she creates the 'caviar manicure' for Et Ochs Fashion show. In the meantime, beauty bloggers have been creating the look themselves and showing us all how to do it. In 2012 Ciaté launch their 'caviar manicure' kit and then, in what could be seen as a slightly misguided choice (would you want to upset the beauty bloggers??), send out cease and desist letters to beauty bloggers around the world claiming rights to the term 'caviar manicure' and asking them to remove any how-to videos and tutorials that refer to the 'caviar manicure'. Oh, and they also ask them to stop using the term 'caviar manicure'.
The implication is, of course, that Ciaté want to promote the idea that the only way to get this look is if you fork out for their manicure kit and, by owning the rights to it, they can ensure that no one else can copy them and therein lies the irony. The bloggers and Yankee were furious because they felt that it was Ciaté who had copied the look and were now trying to claim it as their own.
"Ciaté made a big mistake sending out those letters," says Pam Pastor of Polish Police blog. "You don't see Chanel kicking up a sh*tstorm when people try to find a cheaper alternative to their limited edition shades."
Yankee took legal advice but unless she was prepared to fork out loads of money and give up loads of time, it wasn't viable. Plus, legally, she doesn't really have a leg to stand on explains Guillermo Jemenez, professor of Law at the Fashion Institute of Technology, "Did the coiner of the phrase sell a product called 'caviar manicure'? If not, no protection. You get not rights for just coining a phrase unless you use it commercially but if the term 'caviar manicure' has becomes known widely for that type of product, then the term could already be 'generic' or 'descriptive' - difficult or impossible to protect with trademark for Ciaté."
The battle continues in its various forms, but the question of who owns what and whether nail technicians, make up artists and hair stylists should be protecting their work in the same way that musicians, for example, do is an interesting one. It's not an easy thing to do and by the sounds of it, it can be costly, but if you think you've developed something fabulous and new that everyone will love and want, keep it quiet, get it protected and put it out there.
Until then...geek on!
The Ed.
Welcome to the warring worlds of claiming rights to nail looks. Good lord, is it a messy one! The nutshell version of the current battle looks a little something like this.
It's 2010 and Patti Yankee comes up with the phrase 'caviar manicure' as testified to by beauty bloggers all over the world. In 2011 she creates the 'caviar manicure' for Et Ochs Fashion show. In the meantime, beauty bloggers have been creating the look themselves and showing us all how to do it. In 2012 Ciaté launch their 'caviar manicure' kit and then, in what could be seen as a slightly misguided choice (would you want to upset the beauty bloggers??), send out cease and desist letters to beauty bloggers around the world claiming rights to the term 'caviar manicure' and asking them to remove any how-to videos and tutorials that refer to the 'caviar manicure'. Oh, and they also ask them to stop using the term 'caviar manicure'.
The implication is, of course, that Ciaté want to promote the idea that the only way to get this look is if you fork out for their manicure kit and, by owning the rights to it, they can ensure that no one else can copy them and therein lies the irony. The bloggers and Yankee were furious because they felt that it was Ciaté who had copied the look and were now trying to claim it as their own.
"Ciaté made a big mistake sending out those letters," says Pam Pastor of Polish Police blog. "You don't see Chanel kicking up a sh*tstorm when people try to find a cheaper alternative to their limited edition shades."
Yankee took legal advice but unless she was prepared to fork out loads of money and give up loads of time, it wasn't viable. Plus, legally, she doesn't really have a leg to stand on explains Guillermo Jemenez, professor of Law at the Fashion Institute of Technology, "Did the coiner of the phrase sell a product called 'caviar manicure'? If not, no protection. You get not rights for just coining a phrase unless you use it commercially but if the term 'caviar manicure' has becomes known widely for that type of product, then the term could already be 'generic' or 'descriptive' - difficult or impossible to protect with trademark for Ciaté."
The battle continues in its various forms, but the question of who owns what and whether nail technicians, make up artists and hair stylists should be protecting their work in the same way that musicians, for example, do is an interesting one. It's not an easy thing to do and by the sounds of it, it can be costly, but if you think you've developed something fabulous and new that everyone will love and want, keep it quiet, get it protected and put it out there.
Until then...geek on!
The Ed.
