And finally… lathered up
A tiny company is gearing up for a trademark battle with cosmetics giant L’Oréal over its use of the word “naked”.
Gary Lee Rushforth, owner of The Naked Soap Company in Dalgety Bay, Fife, told The Courier: “We can’t afford fancy lawyers to fight it. But it’s unreal that they think they can own a word.”
L’Oréal has challenged its trademark application as its Urban Decay brand has a line of make-up palettes under the name Naked.
However, Mr Rushforth, who started his business in February and now employs 12 people, said he’s “not willing to give up”.
He added: “It’s not right when there’s a family businesses like ourselves who, through blood, sweat and tears, have built things up and created jobs. Then there’s a massive company coming in to take it away.”
Trademark lawyer Rachel Wilkinson-Duffy, handling L’Oreal’s claim, confirmed the dispute was over the word “naked”, but added: “We are not able to make any comment on behalf of the client.”