Rebecca Dowdeswell says the lengthy legal battle with global cosmetics giant L'Oréal has taken a significant toll on her and her business.
The French firm is challenging Dowdeswell's attempt to renew the trademark for her salon, nkd, located in Leicester city centre. L'Oréal argues that the name nkd could cause "consumer confusion" with its own trademarked NAKED beauty product line.
Dowdeswell has spent over £30,000 contesting L'Oréal's opposition to her trademark application.
She asserts that her nkd product range cannot be confused with L'Oréal's NAKED brand.
The mother of two from Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, said the pressure from the dispute contributed to her decision to downsize her business and close a salon she previously operated in Nottingham.
L'Oréal told the BBC it had made Dowdeswell an offer "that supports her business aspirations." However, she disputes this, claiming the firm has continued to oppose her application to register nkd as a trademark for toiletries.
Dowdeswell registered nkd as a trademark when she launched her business in 2009, but issues arose when the trademark expired 10 years later. She missed the six-month window to renew it, partly due to the chaos caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I should have renewed it straight away. I didn't. That was a big mistake," she admitted. "When I came to re-register the trademark, I was essentially starting from scratch, not renewing an existing one."
L'Oréal objected, citing their ownership of the Urban Decay make-up brand, which includes a range of eye shadow palettes called Naked.
"I was very surprised because we have never been Naked. We're spelled NKD, we are pronounced N, K, D," Dowdeswell said.
She added that in 15 years of trading, there has never been any evidence of consumer confusion.
"I've spent two years negotiating with them trying to come to a co-existence agreement where they can carry on trading as Naked with their make-up and we can carry on as nkd in our very tight sphere of waxing and hair removal," she said. "This is David vs Goliath and frankly it has been horrible, exhausting, and really stressful. I've now racked up over £30,000 plus VAT in legal costs defending myself."
Dowdeswell said she could not just walk away from her brand after spending 13 years building it up.
L'Oréal remains committed to resolving any misunderstandings and has communicated an offer that supports Dowdeswell's business while respecting its trademark rights.
If unresolved, the matter will be decided by the government's Intellectual Property Office, likely in 2025. Photo by Erwmat, Wikimedia commons.