Is Jo Malone being sued by Estée Lauder for infringement? Her Zara collaboration sparks controversy and a massive compensation claim
Can you really not even use your own name?
Can’t even use your own name? Jo Malone was recently sued by her former employer, Estée Lauder, for allegedly violating an agreement after her name appeared on the packaging of the Jo Loves fragrance collection created in collaboration with Zara. Estée Lauder is seeking more than HK$ 2,000,000/NT$ 8,000,000 in damages. Jo Malone responded with dismay in an Instagram video: “I sold a company, but I didn’t sell myself.” The case has sparked heated discussion among perfume lovers and become this week’s biggest bombshell in fashion and beauty. Who would have thought that one day, you might not be legally allowed to use your own name? Fragrance queen Jo Malone has been taken to court by her former employer, Estée Lauder, over a collaboration collection familiar to many. So how did this talented perfumer get caught up in the controversy?
Why is Jo Malone being sued by her former employer?
The dispute dates back to an acquisition in 1999. That year, Jo Malone sold Jo Malone London, the globally popular namesake fragrance brand she had built from the ground up, to American beauty giant Estée Lauder. Under the business agreement signed at the time, she was strictly prohibited from using her own name to promote any fragrance products in future commercial marketing. That’s why her later creations could no longer be marketed under her full name.
After bravely battling breast cancer, she decided to reset the course of her life following her recovery. In 2006, she officially stepped down as the brand’s creative director and left the fragrance empire she had built herself. In previous interviews, she has admitted that selling the rights to her own name was the biggest mistake of her life. Estée Lauder has now formally taken legal action, accusing her of infringing on the brand’s trademark rights and seeking more than HK$ 2,000,000/NT$ 8,000,000 in damages.
The flashpoint was the Zara collaboration fragrance that many of us have on our vanities. After Jo Malone’s non-compete clause officially expired in 2011, she founded the new independent brand Jo Loves, driven by her love of fragrance. In 2019, Jo Loves launched a hugely popular collaboration with fast-fashion brand Zara. Priced at around HK$ 360/NT$ 1,440, it became a top choice for budget-conscious women looking to buy a master perfumer’s fragrance without breaking the bank.
The issue lies in the wording on the product packaging. The latest packaging in the collection bears the line: “A creation by Jo Malone CBE, founder of Jo Loves.” Estée Lauder maintains that the wording seriously violates the original naming agreement and damages the distinctive brand value Jo Malone London has built over decades.
How Jo Loves and Jo Malone London differ in brand positioning
Those new to fragrance may often confuse these two brands, and that is also at the heart of the lawsuit. Jo Malone London is the brand she originally founded, known for its elegant British style and classic cream-colored gift boxes. It is now wholly owned by the Estée Lauder group. Jo Loves, meanwhile, is the personal brand she launched as a fresh start in 2011, with more modern, playful packaging centered on its signature red dots.
Jo Malone also said with frustration in the video: “We’ve done our best to train all frontline staff so everyone clearly understands that these two brands have absolutely no connection.” She stressed that her team had gone to extraordinary lengths with the packaging and promotion to ensure every consumer knows the Zara collaboration collection has nothing to do with Jo Malone London.
View this post on Instagram
Facing the sudden lawsuit from her former employer, Jo Malone responded in an Instagram video for the first time. Her frustration was impossible to hide. “My name is Jo Malone. I am a person, a perfumer, an entrepreneur, a cancer survivor,” she said. “I never thought that one day I would receive a High Court writ bearing my own name.”
In the video, she explained that when Zara approached her about a collaboration seven years ago, it invited her as a person to create beautiful fragrances for everyone in the world to enjoy, rather than approaching a brand or a logo. Her words, “I sold a company, but I didn’t sell myself,” truly left countless people online heartbroken.
Online opinion is divided. Some believe Estée Lauder, from the business standpoint of a multinational corporation, has every legal basis to protect the brand assets it has invested in and built over decades. That is the harsh reality of business: contractual obligations outweigh all personal feelings. Yet from fans’ perspective, it is hard not to feel for a talented perfumer asking helplessly, “Where can I go next? Who can I be? No one can stop you from being yourself.” Whatever the court ultimately decides, Jo Malone has already secured an irreplaceable place in the fragrance world through her keen sense of smell and countless moving scent stories. We will be following developments closely.
Here are some other recent reports worth checking out:
- Even the makeup bag will make your heart skip a beat: LANEIGE’s first collaboration with Matin Kim gives its color-changing lip tint and cushion foundation a minimalist new look
- Ice cream lovers, take note: TEEMTONEfai marks its 10th anniversary with a new physical store on Upper Lascar Row, and the retro golden dragon decor is super photogenic
- Time to switch up your makeup bag: Prada Beauty’s new purple collection is here, with Zendaya’s blackcurrant fragrance dropping too!
