Fashion

Kendall & Kylie Rock Icons T-Shirt Debacle. The Doors Ready to Sue

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Some stories just defy the laws of reason, say for example Kendall and Kylie Jenner thinking they could sell T-shirts of rock icons with their images superimposed over the image of the rockers, without any permissions.   Twitter blew up last week when the two teenage Jenner girls, Kendall and Kylie released T-Shirts featuring rockers The Doors, Led Zepplin, Ozzie Osbourne, Biggie and Tupac with their image imposed over the image of the rock legends.  Seriously, this is an example of a marketing and legal school of stupid.  Was this scheme for pure profit masterminded by Mom-manger Kris Jenner or another Kardashain handler? It’s hard to say.  But, when you put out a piece of merchandise with the image and likeness of another without their permission, there are legal penalties for that. If they had run this by a lawyer, or a seasoned marketing professional, it seems that they would have been advised to not do this. Unless of course, they thought they could get away with it, accepted the risk and wanted to keep 100% of the profits.  What drove the T-shirt idea for the Jenner girls…could it be the need for greed?

Vollette Wallace Instagram BIggiE

“I am not sure who told @kyliejenner and @kendalljenner that they had the right to do this,” said Vollette Wallace via her Instagram account.

In a statement, Volette Wallace mother of Notorious B.I.G smacked the Jenner girls hard. “The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me. I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my Son Christopher to sell a t-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!” noted VolettaWallace in a post via Instagram.

The Kendall and Kylie Jenner T-shirt featuring The Doors.

The Kendall and Kylie Jenner T-shirt featuring The Doors.

TMZ reports that “lawyers for the The Doors have fired off a cease and desist letter to the Jenner sisters over the T-shirt” they tried to sell.  The T-shirt outrageously featured a famous pic of Jim Morrison covered by a Kendall selfie. The letter, dated Thursday, says the t-shirt line tarnishes their trademark. The shirt also features the band’s logo.  This is like trademark law 101–how does any one think they can use a legally protected image for their own personal profit.

Although the Jenner the sisters removed the t-shirt line completely on Thursday , June 29th after receiving a similar threat from the estate of Notorious B.I.G. and a reprimand from his mother, it seems that The Doors will still be seeking legal remedies.  According to TMZ  ” a source connected to the estates tell us the damage has been done, and they’ll be pursuing a lawsuit.”

Sharon Osbourne told the Jenner girls to stick to selling lipstick via her Twitter account.  However, if you have read reviews of Kylie’s lipstick, it looks like that is not a business the family knows much about either.

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Since 2008, Mary Hall has been the author of The Recessionista Blog, which is read by thousands of regular readers in over 160 countries. An internationally recognized expert on the art of the living the good life for less, she has been a commentator on local, national, and international radio and TV shows. Her advice has been featured in over 2,000 media outlets, including The New York Times, Reuters, Life & Style magazine, ABC News, NBC News and now The Huffington Post, among many others.