Retailer Takes a Stand Against Legal Claim for Popular First Name
- B&M refutes Kylie Minogue’s legal claim
- Claims singer is not the most famous Kylie
- Renames products ‘Camilla’
- Ashley Wilde and Minogue launch legal challenge
- B&M calls it greedy
- B&M sells millions in home textiles annually
Bargain retailer B&M has refuted a legal claim made by Kylie Minogue against it for selling two products named ‘Kylie’, calling her ‘greedy’ and pointing to reality star Kylie Jenner as the more famous namesake. Home furnishings designer Ashley Wilde and Minogue have launched a legal challenge over B&M’s bed linen and cushion products called ‘Kylie Sparkle’ and ‘Kylie Boudoir’. They claim the products deliberately imitate the ‘Kylie Minogue at Home’ range made by Wilde. However, a spokesperson for B&M has said that the products have nothing to do with Minogue and the name of the products was meaningless. “We are disappointed that the furnishing business that represents Ms Minogue has been so litigious. B&M sells tens of millions of pounds worth of home textiles each year, all under B&M’s own homewares brands. The duvet set and cushions in dispute are clearly branded as B&M’s ‘Karina Bailey’ and ‘Mode’ ranges, which are brands owned by B&M. “We innocently named a duvet set and a cushion ‘Kylie’ but nothing about the packaging makes any reference to Ms Kylie Minogue. There are millions of people called Kylie on the planet, and today the most famous is probably Kylie Jenner who has 100 million Instagram followers (against 1 million for Ms Minogue). “B&M has decided to take a stand rather than pay £10,000 in damages because we don’t think a pop star can ‘own’ such a popular first name. The irony is that the claimants have named one of their duvet sets ‘Adele’ – even though the singer Adele doesn’t receive any royalty.” The B&M products in question have been renamed ‘Camilla’, however, B&M says it is still being asked to pay £10,000 in damages in order to get the suit dropped. The spokesperson added: “We wish to stress that everyone at B&M thinks Kylie Minogue is amazing and super talented. We love her music but we think it’s greedy of her business partners to think you can own a popular first name.
Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate information about the legal dispute between B&M, Kylie Minogue, and Ashley Wilde, and includes quotes from B&M’s spokesperson. It presents both sides of the argument and does not include irrelevant or sensational details.
Noise Level: 3
Noise Justification: The article provides some relevant information about the legal dispute between B&M and Kylie Minogue, but also includes unnecessary details about Kylie Jenner’s Instagram followers and Adele, making it slightly more noisy than informative.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: The dispute between B&M, Kylie Minogue and Ashley Wilde impacts the companies involved financially.
Financial Rating Justification: This article discusses a legal claim made by Kylie Minogue against B&M for selling products named ‘Kylie’, which affects the financial interests of the companies involved in the lawsuit.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Extreme Rating Justification:
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