Kim, Kayne, and Their Daughter’s Trademark that Launched a War
🗞️ The Situation
Kanye West (Ye) just made public that Kim Kardashian controls the trademarks to their daughter North West’s name.
Starting back in 2019, Kim filed a set of trademark applications for “North West”:
NORTH WEST (App. No. 88298829) covering cosmetic and skincare products
Filed on February 12, 2019 / Abandoned in 2023
NORTH WEST (App. No. 88298814) covering toys
Filed on February 12, 2019 / Abandoned in 2023
NORTH WEST (App. No. 88298821) covering clothing
Filed on February 12, 2019 / Abandoned in 2023
NORTH WEST (App. No. 88298799) covering advertising services and retail store services
Filed on February 12, 2019 - Abandoned in 2023
NORTH WEST (App. No. 88298789) covering celebrity and entertainment services
Filed on February 12, 2019 - Abandoned in 2023
These weren’t just symbolic. In the world of celebrities, a trademark is how you legally lock down a name so nobody else can slap it on products or brands without your say-so.
But here’s the twist: none of those trademarks filings survived.
So in 2023, Kim filed another set of trademarks for North West:
NORTH WEST (App. No. 97834121) covering celebrity and entertainment services
Filed on March 10, 2023 / Abandoned in 2024
NORTH WEST (App. No. 97834091) covering cosmetic and skincare products
Filed on March 10, 2023 / Abandoned in 2024
NORTH WEST (App. No. 97834113) covering advertising services and retail store services
Filed on March 10, 2023 / Abandoned in 2024
Most of these trademarks she filed in 2023 are now dead.
Only one NORTH WEST trademark application that Kim Kardashian filed in 2023 is still alive:
NORTH WEST (App. No. 97834099) covering toys
Filed on March 10, 2023 / Still pending as of TODAY
Why does this matter?
Because Kanye wanted to use North’s name in a new song with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Kim reportedly told him he couldn’t. He then posted texts where Kim says she trademarked the kids’ names for protection, that she’ll hold them until they’re 18, and that he should back off.
His reply: “Amend it or I’m going to war.”
This isn’t just family drama. It’s a crash course in how trademarks actually work — and what happens when you don’t maintain them.
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🧩 How Trademarks Actually Work
Think of a trademark like renting a piece of land in the business world. You don’t get the whole city. You only get the specific plot you register for. The law calls those plots “classes.” Each class is a category of goods or services: clothing, cosmetics, music, toys, and so on.
Here’s an easy way to picture it:
Class 25 = Clothing & footwear (things like T-shirts and sneakers)
Class 3 = Cosmetics & fragrances (perfume, makeup, skin care)
Class 28 = Toys & games (dolls, puzzles, action figures)
Class 41 = Entertainment services (music, concerts, streaming)
If you file in Class 25 for clothing items, you can stop someone from selling T-shirts with your brand. But you can’t use that same filing to stop someone from releasing software (in Class 9 or 42) with the same brand name. Different class, different plot of land. Sometimes, trademark classes can be related (think Class 25 - clothing and athletic wear vs Class 10 - medical devices and maternity belts). This completely depends on the facts of both trademarks and has to be through through on a case-by-case basis.
And there’s another catch: you can’t just file a trademark and forget. You have to actually use the trademark in that category. If you don’t launch a product, the filing will eventually be cancelled as “abandoned.”
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🧩 The “North West” Filings
Here’s what Kim did in 2019: she tried to lock down North’s name across four different categories — beauty, fashion, entertainment, and toys.
In cosmetics and fragrances (Class 3), she filed to cover makeup, perfumes, and skin care. But no “North West” beauty line ever launched. That filing died.
In fashion (Class 25), she filed for clothes, shoes, and accessories. Again, no actual products appeared. That filing also died.
In entertainment media/software (Class 41), she filed for apps, digital content, and recordings. This is the category that would have mattered most for music. But since nothing was ever sold or released, that filing lapsed too.
The only survivor was toys and games (Class 28) — dolls, action figures, puzzles, electronic toys. That trademark application is still alive today, but not registered!
So right now, Kim has *some* **potential** claim to “NORTH WEST” in toys (Class 28). However, the application is still pending. But she does NOT have live rights in cosmetics, clothing, or entertainment.
One wrinkle: under U.S. law, even without a live registration, you can sometimes claim what are called common law rights if you’ve actually sold products under the name. But that doesn’t look to be the case here. No North West makeup, no North West fashion, no North West app. Which means her fallback rights in those categories are paper-thin.
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🚀 If I Were Representing Kanye
Here’s what I would tell him:
Your ex has one live pending trademark: toys. That may become enforceable if it registers. So far, she keeps letting the trademarks go abandoned, so it’s a bit up in the air what she will do with the toy trademark application.
But Kim’s entertainment filing — the one that would have blocked you in music — is gone. That’s her weakness.
File fresh in the entertainment and music categories. Use North’s name in credits, because listing your daughter as an artist is descriptive use, not branding. And don’t let anyone confuse dolls on a shelf with verses on a track. The law doesn’t stretch that far.
Be mindful that Kim could still try to wave the flag of “common law rights.” It’s not a slam dunk for her — without proof of use it’s weak — but it means you should avoid packaging “North West” as a broad brand without legal backup.
🧠 Bottom line for Kanye: Toys are tricky (but not off-limits if you want to fight it out — soon before it registers). But music is open. File your own, use carefully, and don’t confuse artist credit with product branding.
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🌟 If I Were Representing Kim
Here’s the play:
Filing early was smart. Beyoncé did it for Blue Ivy. Cardi B did it for Kulture. LeBron did it for Bronny. This is now the standard celebrity move.
But you lost three of the four categories. That weakens your position. If you want control beyond toys, you need to refile in clothing, cosmetics, and especially entertainment. You also need to actually finish the trademark process — stop abandoning your applications and letting your trademarks die.
Publicly, lean on the child-protection narrative: you’re not blocking Kanye, you’re keeping opportunists from exploiting your daughter’s name. And keep common law rights in your back pocket. They’re weaker, and harder to prove, but in litigation they’re still worth raising.
🧠 Bottom line for Kim: Semi-strong in toys. Very weak elsewhere. Refile fast, or risk losing control in the categories that actually matter.
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🔥 If I Were Representing North
North is the one whose name is on all this paper. And she’s a minor. She doesn’t control any of it yet.
The fix: move the trademarks (registered, common law trademark rights, NIL, social media accounts, brand rights, everything!) into a trust where she’s the beneficiary. That way neither parent can weaponize them. Lock in trademark assignment documents now so they automatically transfer when she turns 18.
And start building her NIL (name, image, likeness) plan now. Just like Bronny James had his name locked down before college, North should have structured rights early. She’s already a global figure.
Most important: carve out her right to use her name personally. A trademark shouldn’t stop her from being credited as herself. That has to be guaranteed.
🧠 Bottom line for North: Pull her name out of the battlefield. Put it in a structure that protects her, not her parents.
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🧨 The Bigger Picture
This isn’t just a Kardashian-West drama. It’s a playbook.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z fought an event planner to control “Blue Ivy Carter” — and won.
Cardi B filed for “Kulture” across beauty, fashion, and entertainment in 2019.
LeBron James registered “Bronny” years before NIL rules changed.
Shaquille O’Neal has dozens of “SHAQ” filings across industries he doesn’t even touch, purely as defense.
The trend is clear: celebrity families now treat names as brands from day one.
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⚖️ Final Thought
Trademarks aren’t about who yells loudest on Instagram. They’re about what’s filed, what’s used, and whether consumers would be confused.
Kim has toys (maybe). Kanye has music. North deserves her own plan.
And the difference between launching a North West doll and singing her name in a verse? One is Kim’s turf. The other is open — though Kanye still needs to move carefully, because abandoned doesn’t always mean zero.
That’s the state of celebrity trademark law in 2025.
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