Jessica Simpson’s Company Is Suing A Small Apparel Retailer Over ‘Jessica’ Brand Name Dispute

Jessica Simpson’s company is suing the owner of a small online apparel retailer called “Jessica’s Everything Shop,” claiming the woman rejected a settlement that would have allowed both Jessicas to “live and let live” and instead tried to win a cash payout.

In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for the singer’s With You LLC say Simpson and her apparel collection have “always coexisted” with other women named Jessica — specifically name-dropping Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel and many other famous women with that name.

But Simpson’s lawyers say that Jessica Tirado and her “Everything Shop” have been improperly trying to secure their own exclusive trademark on “Jessica” without a surname — a step they say would cause “consumer confusion” and allow Tirado to unfairly sue Simpson over her longstanding use of the name.

When they reached out to resolve the problem without litigation, Simpson’s lawyers say they were met with an unreasonable demand for a “monetary payment to Ms. Tirado.”

“[With You] has a policy that it does not make any such payments, inasmuch as doing so invites ‘troll  plaintiff’s attorneys’ to file claims against WY, believing that WY will, in each instance, pay monies,” Simpsons lawyers wrote in their Thursday (July 20) lawsuit.

Tirado’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday. A lawyer for With You LLC (a holding that owns Simpson’s trademarks and other intellectual property) also did not return a request for comment.

Simpson, 43, initially launched The Jessica Simpson Collection in 2005 with a partnership with shoe designer Vince Camuto, eventually growing into a company with a reported $1 billion in revenue by 2014. In 2021, after part-owner Sequential Brands Group Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Simpson spent $65 million to win back complete control of the brand.

Tirado’s website, meanwhile, currently hosts a store featuring “create your own” t-shirts with custom designs. One features an image of from the film Hocus Pocus with the text “Turns Out I’m 100% That Witch;” another features an image of Santa Claus with the text “Bitch Better Have My Cookies.”

In last week’s lawsuit, Simpson’s lawyers say they first flagged Tirado after she applied in 2021 at the federal trademark office to register the full name of her brand — “Jessica’s Everything Shop *JES*” — as a trademark for an online apparel store. But they say they tried, at first, to hash things out peacefully.

“Before taking any action with respect to Ms. Tirado’s trademark application, WY sought to work out a ‘live and let live’ … arrangement that would allow Ms. Tirado to proceed with her exploitation of her name ‘Jessica Tirado’ in a way that would never impede WY’s activities,” the lawyers for Simpson’s company write.

After such talks were unsuccessful, Simpson’s company filed a formal opposition at the trademark office, asking the agency to deny the application. In a copy of that filing obtained by Billboard, lawyers for Simpson’s company warned that consumers were likely to confuse the two “Jessica” trademarks.

In last week’s lawsuit, Simpson’s lawyers said that a lawyer for Tirado then responded to that opposition filing with a demand of his own.

“Ultimately, Ms. Tirado engaged legal counsel to represent her in the opposition, who responded and indicated that Ms. Tirado was willing to settle the matter with WY, but only if WY was willing to make a monetary payment,” Simpson’s lawyers wrote. “When Ms. Tirado’s counsel made clear that the matter would not settle absent a payment, and he began to run up legal costs … WY was left with no alternative but to protect its position by filing this lawsuit.”

Thursday’s lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, as well as an injunction forcing Tirado to “phase out” her use of the “Jessica’s Everything Shop” name over the course of three months.

Related Images: