Did Kylie Jenner Just Admit to Ripping Off Artist?

Kylie Jenner and Kylie Cosmetics dodged a copyright infringement lawsuit from artist Vlada Haggerty.

Kylie Jenner attends Marie Claire's Image Maker Awards 2017
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Kylie Jenner attends Marie Claire's Image Maker Awards 2017

Kylie Jenner attends Marie Claire's Image Maker Awards 2017

Kylie Jenner may have dodged a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Back in November, it was reported that the 19-year-old reality TV star was facing a potential legal battle over imagery she used in her cosmetic campaigns. Artist Vlada Haggerty claimed the Kylie Cosmetics artwork, which featured coated, dripping lips, was a rip-off of her distinct makeup art style. Haggerty’s lawyer, Stephen McArthur, eventually threatened legal action, as pointed out by The Fashion Law.

“Vlada Haggerty is known for pioneering the dripping lip art style. This is the second time that Kylie Cosmetics has taken images without any acknowledgement and without the payment of a proper licensing fee, which amounts to copyright infringement,” McArthur wrote in a statement. “Additionally, Kylie Cosmetics sells its products under a logo that is so similar to the dripping lip art style that symbolizes Ms. Haggerty’s makeup artist brand that she receives daily inquires as to whether she is associated with Kylie Cosmetics. Theft by big brands like Kylie Cosmetics from original artists without proper licensing and attribution must stop. Due to Kylie Cosmetics’ repeated infringement and refusal to properly attribute or license, we plan to file a lawsuit early this week.”

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The lawsuit was never filed; however, it appears the parties have resolved the issue.

Last Friday, Kylie went to Instagram with another image featuring the signature dripping lips. She captioned the post, “This really is everything […] Check out the wonderful makeup art of @vladamua!”

Days later, she shared another campaign image in which Haggerty and photographer Julia Kuzmenko McKim were credited.

Haggerty followed up Kylie’s post with her own message: “We are very happy to share that the issue has been resolved[…] Thanks so much to every single one of you creative souls who supported us, we truly appreciate you.”

It was clearly a win-win situation—Kylie avoids a suit, and Haggerty gets her work (properly credited, this time) in front of Jenner's 84.3 million IG followers. 

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