Madonna Sued Over|Hard Candy Trademark

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Hard Candy, which makes clothing and fashion accessories for young women, claims Madonna is violating its trademark and trying to license Hard Candy Fitness clubs and clothing.

Florida-based Hard Candy sued Madonna, her manager Guy Oseary, MGHCandy and Epic Rights on Friday, in Federal Court. It claims Madonna is the managing member of MGHCandy, that Oseary owns 50 percent or more of the company, and the Epic Rights is its licensor.

Hard Candy sells its clothing, cosmetics and eyeglasses primarily through Wal-Mart. It says it has done so since 1995, when its first product was a Hard Candy nail polish. It applied for a Hard Candy trademark in 1996, and received it, and received Hard Candy trademarks for other cosmetics as well, it claims in the lawsuit, and it has licensed the marks since 2009.

Nonparty Evolution Ventures sought to trademark Hard Candy Fitness in 2009, and claimed it intended to use the mark in the United States, but has not done so, opening only one center in Mexico City, the complaint states. (Hard Candy sued Hard Candy Fitness and Madonna in Miami Federal Court in 2014. The case was transferred to Los Angeles.)

Hard Candy Fitness also filed an intent-to-use trademark application for athletic apparel, which the Patent and Trademark Office refused, the complaint states. Nonetheless, the defendants are promoting their Hard Candy Fitness apparel on the Internet, and are trying to license it as well, the complaint states.

Hard Candy seeks an injunction and punitive damages for trademark infringement and dilution and unfair competition, and transfer of any trademarks the defendants have been granted.

It is represented by Stephen Mick with Barnes & Thornburg, whose offices were closed over the weekend.

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