Estee Lauder
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Lady Burd Exclusive Cosmetics, Inc. (Farmingdale, N.Y.) "knew before it filed this harassing lawsuit" that the Patent & Trademark Office "had concluded that the term indelible lipstick is generic," Lauder says, asking the Manhattan federal court to dismiss the private label cosmetics manufacturer's complaint. In its Dec. 21 response to Lady Burd's Dec. 3 amended complaint, Estee Lauder also reserved its right to file a claim for "trade and business libel for frivolous and unsupportable claims and accusations." Lauder adds there "is no actual or likelihood of confusion" between Estee Lauder's Indelible Lips product and the plaintiff's item because its lipsticks are "sold in prestige retail outlets bearing the famous Estee Lauder house mark as the prominent feature on its packaging." Lauder filed a counterclaim to Lady Burd's suit Nov. 9 ("The Rose Sheet" Dec. 14, 1998, In Brief)