"Kendall & Kylie" embroiled in legal trouble with The Doors for t-shirt mistake

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jul 5, 2017

Kendall and Kylie Jenner's "Kendall & Kylie" vintage tee shirt woes are far from over as the brand is now facing a lawsuit from The Doors for misappropriating the band's trademarks.

Last week on June 29th the brand launched a graphic tee collection of $125 tees using images of iconic musicians.  The collection was launched as a "vintage" collection and superimposed images of Kendall and Kylie over trademarked iconic images of 2Pac, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne, the Notorious B.I.G. and The Doors.

Graphics included Kylie pulling herself out of a pool layered over an image of Ozzy Osbourne with the caption "body is a wonderland" as well as two styles where Kylie was superimposed over The Doors' logo and lead singer Jim Morrison's face.

Hours after Kendall and Kylie launched their "vintage" tee shirt collection last week, the product was quickly pulled off the market. Apparently the brand realized only after the launch that it had entered litigious territory by using trademarked images of iconic musicians without permission from the estates and owners of the intellectual property.

Immediately the rightful owners of the trademarks told Kendall & Kylie to cease and desist. Sharon Osbourne wrote on her Instagram, "Girls, you haven't earned the right to put your face with musical icons. Stick to what you know…lip gloss."

The Notorious B.I.G.'s mother, Voletta Wallace, also made a clear statement on Instagram disassociating her son's brand from the Kendall and Kylie line. She made clear that her son's estate was not contacted and the imagery was not authorized to be used.

Wallace's Instagram said, "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!!!"

Both Kendall and Kylie Jenner issued formal apologies on their social media channels the same day as the launch. They said the designs were "not well thought out" and apologized to the families of the artists calling it a mistake and a learning experience.

It appears the "damage was already done" and that the apology was a remedial measure taken too late. The Doors wrote Kendall and Kylie a cease and desist letter immediately.

TMZ has now also reported that The Doors' lawyers are not satisfied with removing the product from the market and will be pursuing a lawsuit.