R&B diva Beyonce Knowles has found herself the target of a lawsuit by Abercrombie and Fitch over her upcoming perfume line. The clothing company claims Beyonce and her alter-ego Sasha Fierce will infringe on their “Fierce” fragrance line with her new products.
Beyonce described her upcoming perfume, set to launch in early 2010, as “an alluring and sophisticated fragrance; one that’s reflective of my inner power” in an announcement on Tuesday. Abercrombie and Fitch hit the courthouse in Columbus, OH only hours later to lodge a protest over the new perfume.
The whole lawsuit is a bit convoluted, which likely doesn’t bode well for Abercrombie and Fitch. See, Beyonce’s most recent album is called I Am… Sasha Fierce. Abercrombie and Fitch has a perfume line called “Fierce” and owns the trademark to the name. The clothing company claims that because of her album and alter-ego “Sasha Fierce,” Beyonce’s new perfume line might be confused with their perfume products. Thus, they are suing for trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.
The kicker here is that the company set to produce Beyonce’s perfume line, Coty, has no plans to name any of their perfume products after the singer’s new album. “The terms Fierce and Sasha Fierce are not being used as names of a Beyonce fragrance,” Coty said in a press statement. But Abercrombie and Fitch insist the singer’s proposed product still “poses a likelihood of confusion” for customers and could cost them profits.
Honestly, we think perfume buyers are far less likely to be confused by which fragrance is which than this whole crazy lawsuit argument. Does Abercrombie and Fitch honestly think this makes any sense at all – or are they just grabbing on a crazy straw for some free publicity?
