Estee Lauder has taken legal action against British perfumer Jo Malone, Malone’s Jo Loves fragrance brand and Zara’s UK business, alleging that the use of the name "Jo Malone" on certain products sold at Zara infringes rights held by the U.S. cosmetics firm.
According to the complaint, filed on Wednesday, Estee Lauder points to its ownership of the Jo Malone name and brand rights, which the company acquired in 1999. Jo Malone departed from the business in 2006 and later established a separate scent company named Jo Loves in 2011. The contested issue centers on the appearance of the name "Jo Malone" on the packaging of Jo Loves fragrances retailed through Zara in the U.K.
The lawsuit alleges multiple legal claims: breach of contract, trademark infringement and "passing off." The latter term is identified in the complaint as the practice of misleading consumers into believing that goods or services originate from another company, effectively creating a false association between products.
Estee Lauder's action also names Inditex, the parent company of Zara UK, alongside Jo Loves and Jo Malone herself. As part of the public record, Estee Lauder, Zara UK’s parent and Jo Loves did not immediately provide comment in response to requests. Jo Malone could not be reached for an immediate response.
The filing follows a sequence of events noted in the complaint: Estee Lauder's purchase of the original Jo Malone-branded perfume business and the rights to use Jo Malone's name in 1999; Malone's exit from that company in 2006; and her later creation of Jo Loves in 2011. The suit asserts that the use of the "Jo Malone" name on Jo Loves products sold at Zara conflicts with the rights Estee Lauder continues to hold.
At this stage, the suit alleges specific causes of action but the public filings and statements described above do not include further detail on remedies sought or the precise geographic or product scope of the claims. Requests for comment from the companies named in the complaint were not answered at the time of reporting, and Jo Malone was not immediately available for comment.
Context note: The legal claims cited in the filing are presented in the complaint as breach of contract, trademark infringement and passing off. The information available publicly at the time of this reporting is limited to the assertions in the complaint and the sequence of events described regarding brand ownership and subsequent business activities.