They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but makeup artist Vlada Haggerty doesn’t seem to think so. After allegedly stomaching months of idea theft, Haggerty says she’s ready to sue Kylie Jenner, claiming the “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” reality star copied her artwork to promote her holiday makeup line.

On November 19, the Kylie Cosmetics Twitter page posted an image of a woman with red ombre lips concealing her eyes with gold covered hands. The promo pic was meant to show off some of Jenner’s newest creme shadow and lip kit shades.

Yellow Gold CRÈME shadow on hands available in the holiday collection. Left to right: MARY JO, MERRY, VIXEN ombré on the lips @MarceloCantu pic.twitter.com/05jO4qEFIH

— KYLIE COSMETICS (@kyliecosmetics) November 19, 2016

However, the image drew a striking resemblance to one that Haggerty posted on September 24 captioned “See No Evil.” Haggerty, who goes by the username Vladmua on Instagram, called out Jenner and her company a week ago by posting a side-by-side of the two pics and captioning it:

Really @kyliecosmetics? Haven’t you gotten enough ‘inspiration’ from me already? Left is a the work @juliakuzmenko, @brittrafuson and I shot a few months ago and right is @kyliecosmetics new campaign.

Really @kyliecosmetics? Haven’t you gotten enough ‘inspiration’ from me already? Left is a the work @juliakuzmenko, @brittrafuson and I shot a few months ago and right is @kyliecosmetics new campaign.

A photo posted by Vlada Haggerty (@vladamua) on Nov 19, 2016 at 8:18pm PST

This is all part of a long controversy between the two that dates back to a year ago. Haggerty claims that not only has Kylie attempted to pass off her artwork as her own in the past, but the teenage entrepreneur also modeled her brand’s lip logo off  Haggerty’s signature melting lips.

Aside from the copycat claims, Jenner also faced backlash over defective lip gloss wands and overpricing, and was even accused of rebranding ColourPop’s matte liquid lipsticks formula as her own.

Photographer Julia Kuzmenko McKim, who captured Haggerty’s “See No Evil” image explained the concept of the photoshoot in a lengthy blog post. McKim wrote, “It breaks my heart to see how large brands take independent, unprotected artists’ work and use them to multiply their wealth. In an ideal world, big brands would easily prevent such backlashes by hiring the artists who have already created something that they would love for their own campaign.”

Kylie Cosmetics has not yet commented on the threat of legal action, but some experts say the lawsuit will likely be a dud. Since ideas aren’t legally protected, Jenner would need to have used the exact same image as Haggerty for there to be a real case.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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It’s Christmas! And in honor of the spirit of the day, I am going to give you all a present. (For everyone who does not celebrate Christmas, I am still giving you a gift just because it is more fun to give than to receive.) My gift is some free advice that could change your life: do not go to Indiana if you plan on drinking and being annoying. Because that’s illegal.

Courtesy of Giphy.

Now you know those laws that were created four hundred years ago and are never enforced, but also never repealed, so we all like to make fun of them? You know what I’m talking about. Like how in my home state of Alabama, there may or may not be a law against wearing fake mustaches that cause laughter in church. Or how in Arkansas, you can’t keep an alligator in the bathtub (incidentally, famed critic Dorothy Parker once bought two baby alligators and put them in a bathtub while she decided what to do with them. She came home one day to find a note from her ex-maid saying she quit because she “cannot work in a house with alligators” and that she would have told Parker this earlier, but that she “never thought the subject would come up.” So maybe this law is a good idea if you want to keep good help, but I digress … ) The one I’m writing about today is not one of those archaic laws. This one was actually upheld quite recently.

Rodgregus Morgan was drunk when he was arrested, it is true. However, that alone was not why he was arrested. You see, the cops thought that he was being annoying and, really, in Indiana, that is all it takes. Indiana has a public intoxication law – enacted in 2012, so, again, not an archaic one – that says you cannot be drunk in public and harass, annoy, or alarm another person.

Courtesy of Giphy.

Morgan, as mentioned before, was drunk. So when he wouldn’t leave the bus shelter where he had fallen asleep, even though a cop asked him to do so, he was arrested because, well, that is just plain annoying, right? I mean, it really annoys me when people don’t do what I ask.

Courtesy of Giphy.

Morgan had a different take on the matter: he “wasn’t being annoying;” he was “waiting for the bus.” Hmm. That’s harder to classify as annoying, but I can try to make it work. Maybe the bus would have been really overcrowded and let’s face it, when I cannot get a seat and have to stand, that’s pretty annoying. But would that really be Morgan’s fault? Or is it a product of the situation itself?

At any rate, let’s see what the courts have to say about this situation. Well, an appeals court said annoying is too hard to define, and so they overturned the conviction. I’d disagree with this ruling. I may not be able to give annoyingness a concrete definition, but, like pornography, I for sure know it when I see it.

Courtesy of Giphy.

Luckily, we can move on to the Indiana Supreme Court to find some common sense. In that high court, they basically agreed with me. Which, in my book, makes them the exact opposite of annoying, because I am always right. They said that you can tell what being annoying is by using the reasonable person test and that the statute was perfectly legit. However, they then said that Morgan wasn’t being annoying and so they dropped his conviction. But that is actually beside the point in this morale tale. The point, of course, being that you can be arrested for being drunk and annoying. Which means that many people I know should stay far away from this state because I know a heck of a lot of annoying drunks.

Anyway, I hope everyone has benefited from my present whether or not you are celebrating today. And for the many of you who found a paid vacation to Indiana as your stocking stuffer, I am sorry if I put a damper on your exciting present.

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last week I told you about the $22 million counterfeit operation busted in Queens. So now you might be asking yourself: If getting your “designer” handbags from Canal street is such a big no-no then where should I get my holiday gifts at a reasonable price? Never fear, it’s almost 2015 and there is now a plethora of consignment sites to get your second-hand designer goods. But as great as sites like Ebay, Amazon, and the new Alibaba are, sometimes sellers aren’t always honest when they claim their items are authentic. So to make sure that you don’t get duped (like my poor brother did when he ordered those fake Nikes from China) I’ve put together a handy guide on how to spot a fake. Whether you’re giving or getting one this season, here’s all you need to know about how to properly authenticate a designer handbag.

Chanel

Remember when I told you that I’ve had family members gift me fake bags in the past? When I was in high school, my aunt gave me a Chanel Grand Shopping Tote. I thought it was cool until I found some irregular stitching and a defect in the “leather.” However, there are a few other tell-tale signs aside from the obvious ones. When it comes to the flap bag, the quilting should properly line up when the bag is closed. The biggest giveaway can also be simply the leather itself; the lambskin should feel buttery smooth and not waxy. Also, every bag made after 1985 should have a label with a specific serial number inside.

Hermès

The most coveted bag in fashion history, people will do anything to get their hands on an Hermès Birkin bag. With a retail price of up to $150,000, the Birkin bag has a high resale rate, so it only follows that there are a lot of fakes floating around out there too. The easiest thing to look for is the bag’s lock spindle, as it should turn around smoothly, and should not be bumpy or grainy. The logo should also read Hermès-Paris with a dash, as opposed to an underscore. In the video below, Tammy Flehr-Gates from Michael’s consignment shop on the Upper East Side gives more tips on how to spot a fake Birkin.

Louis Vuitton

For any Vuitton bag, I reiterate the importance of checking that the leather is dry because if it’s waxy, sorry, but it’s probably not even leather to begin with. More specifically, the Neverfull’s strap should be exactly 3/8″ in width. Any larger is a sign that the bag is made of poor material, so it needs a thick strap to withstand any weight. Vuitton is also famous for its various collaborations, like with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. The infamous multi-colored Speedy features exactly 33 colors, so any less and it’s cheap, lazy imitation. The cherry blossom Speedy also has a sneaky feature that an amateur counterfeiter would never know about; the inside should say “Made in Japan.” Although Vuitton bags are typically made in France, this particular collaboration was made in Japan. If it says “Made in France” on a cherry blossom Speedy, it probably wasn’t made there, or even in Japan for that matter.

Balenciaga

My personal favorite, the City Bag, is pretty easy to authenticate. Since it features so much metal hardware, the first thing you should check for is if they’re heavy and not hollow-feeling. The O-rings on all the zipper pulls will also be soldered closed. Rivets have two rectangular notches in them and the straps should be smooth with absolutely no bumps. Also you won’t ever find your average YKK zipper on a Balenciaga, as they only use Lampo zippers on their bags.

Katherine Fabian

Katherine Fabian is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center. She is a freelance writer and yoga teacher who hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers. Contact Katherine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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