Adventures in Copyright
InStyle v. InStyler: File This Under the ‘What Were They Thinking?’ Category
By Lauren Sherman
So, I got cable last Thursday for the first time in five years. That means I spent most of the weekend engrossed in programs as varied as Teen Mom and The Jersey Shore.
While mostly glued to the incredible train wreck that is MTV, I did peruse the channels to see what I’ve been missing on Hulu.
The first thing that caught my eye was an infomercial for the InStyler, a hair straightener that looks like a curling iron. Its rotating baton is meant to polish your hair while straightening it, leaving it shiny but not fried-looking. It retails for about $150.
While the actual contraption–which yes, I know has been around for about a year already–was fascinating, I was more interested in the name InStyler, mostly because the logo looked almost exactly like that of InStyle magazine’s. I wondered if the straightener was somehow connected with InStyle.
It makes sense–InStyle does quite a bit of beauty coverage, and competitors like Elle have put their name on everything from hair accessories to clothing to eye wear. But after further research, I can’t seem to find any connection between the two brands.
It’s obvious why, from a marketing point of view, InStyler would choose such a name. The magazine’s readers associate it with glamor, Hollywood and looking good, so they might then associate the straightener with the same.
But really, isn’t that illegal?
I consulted my lawyer friends at our sister blog Above the Law to make sure that I wasn’t full of it. One said that, while he isn’t an intellectual property lawyer, his quick take is that it’s certainly possible that InStyle could sue InStyler for trademark infringement. The case would be based on a doctrine called “likelihood of confusion,” meaning that someone could easily confuse the InStyler for being connected to InStyle.
We rest our case. Are you listening, InStyle?
Tags: InStyle, InStyler, trademark infringement
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Don’t rest your case just yet. Is “InStyle” actually trademarked? And moreover, is it trademarked or merely a tradename for doing business? Although the test is likelihood of confusion, this would be more like an unfair competition claim instead of trademark infringement. You should talk to someone who is actually an IP attorney before making legal conclusions. That’s what makes your adventures in copyright articles so frustrating…you never seem to get the law right. You just make silly assumptions based on the title of a legal theory instead. If that’s all you want to do, then it would be better to let your readers know just that.
If InStyle, the magazine, felt they were being copied don’t you think they would have sued somewhere in the past year? Fashionista, get up to date. This blog is becoming a little out-of-date. Not to mention the one-sided opinion overload that has been going on. The news just isn’t fresh.
i like the subjects that you bring up, lauren
a subject that i would love for you to bring up is the fact that to call your label “couture” it has to be certified in paris (forgive the probably incorrect wordage) yet so many labels call their work “couture” and have it as part of their name. that is where my traditional fashion design background draws the line……perhaps i am old fashioned!
just saw this:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Haute-Couture-Impeccable-Style-and-History
Hi Rachel, funny you mentioned that because we were having that conversation in the office today (regarding how people use the word couture incorrectly so often.) Consider it done.
I am glad that I am not the only one who thought about this! It’s been secretly annoying me for years, just as most celebrity clothing lines have. These are things you work towards and earn-
YES! I just got cable and saw the commercial for the first time… My train of thought was: hey? what? are they manufacturing this? they can’t be… ohhh they’re so getting sued.
Whoops my apologies-I just read your Gucci couture post where you mentioned certification-
Sounds like a good case! They definitely look like they’re trying to ride on InStyle’s fame, and clearly you guys were making the connection between the two.
If it’s worth it to InStyle, maybe they will sue (but that would be expensive, and it’s not likely they’d make much money off of it). They should at least send a cease and desist letter.
Stephyfigz–don’t need to register a trademark to get it protected. “InStyle” is definitely a protectable trademark.
I am a trademark attorney and both INSTYLE for the magazine and INSTYLER for the iron are federally registered trademarks. The trademark office did not determine that there was a likelihood of confusion to prevent registration of the iron trademark. This doesn’t preclude the magazine from suing the iron manufacturer for trademark infringemet as there are similarities in the appearance of the marks and the goods associated with the marks.
Also, the logo kinda looks like a penis. Just sayin’.
The logo is only simalar because the word “In” is capitalized but that is were the similarity stops. As an InStyle subscriber, and closeted infomerfcial watcher when I saw the InStyler ( I own one too) commercial I didn’t even think of InStyle the magazine. I wouldn’t even think of them branding a haircare prodcuct. Also other than me and a few others the target audience of infomercials isn’t really the InStyle reader is it?
Awesome, I was wondering if anyone had also noticed that! InStyler/InStyle looking so similar in logo design. InStyle should take note. It is confusing, I thought the same thing, was InStyle affiliated with this uncredited hair appliance? I’d hoped not. And I’m glad this brought up, even more, the inappropriate use of the word “Couture”. It’s like some designers throw that word around all to easily these days!