Rihanna's lingerie brand Savage X Fenty has been sued by a rival over its use of the phrase "Adore Us" in its advertising. Another lingerie company called Adore Me claims that that infringes on its trademarks and implies an affiliation between the two rival pant makers.
In a legal filing in California, Adore Me says that it has gone legal because of Savage X Fenty's "blatant and wilful trading upon Adore Me's goodwill and infringing Adore Me's intellectual property, including through defendant's unauthorised use of a mark or marks confusingly similar to Adore Me's 'Adore Me' mark in connection with clothing products such as lingerie and related online retail services".
"In particular", it goes on, "Savage has advertised its own goods and services using 'Adore Us', which is confusingly similar to 'Adore Me', by prominently displaying the mark in sponsored ads on search engines such as Google for its own line of lingerie. Contrary to what such advertising suggests, Savage's clothing products and retail services are not authorised by, sponsored by, or affiliated with Adore Me".
Adore Me says that it sent cease and desist letters to Savage X Fenty in relation to its recent advertising slogan, but that it received no response. And while at one point it looked like its rival had dropped the slogan, it is now being used again.
Seeking an injunction banning Savage X Fenty from using the 'Adore Us' slogan - as well as damages - the lawsuit states: "Unless defendant is enjoined from infringing Adore Me's intellectual property rights and otherwise deceiving the consuming public and appropriating Adore Me's goodwill, Adore Me will continue to suffer substantial damage and ongoing and irreparable harm".