Today’s What The Cupcake 🧁 segment is c/o People.com and InStyle.[JLM Couture v. Hayley Gutman]

In July 2011, designer, Hayley Paige, at age 25, joined JLM Couture as head bridal designer and began designing a line of bridal gowns under her own name, Hayley Paige. As a JLM designer, she built up her social media followers on IG, TikTok and Pinterest. Her social media feeds not only featured Hayley Paige bridal gowns but also included personal pics of the designer, her fiance and her dog. JLM took exception and demanded that Hayley limit her social media content to bridal ware only. Hayley refused and changed the social media passwords instead.

Can you guess what happened next?

In Dec. 2020, JLM sued Hayley for breach of contract and trademark infringement among other things. Hayley resigned from the company and subsequently launched a bridal line CALLING HER NEW LINE , Hayley Paige.

Both the lower court and the appeal court found that Hayley did in fact breach the non compete clause of her contract with JLM when she started selling bridal gowns under her name. In July 2022, the court ruled that Hayley is not allowed to work in the bridal industry or any other industry that competes with JLM until August 1, 2027. This will make it difficult for Hayley to actually work in the bridal industry.

WHAT THE CUPCAKE?! 🙀🚫🧁

So - who gets to own @misshayleypaige which by the way comes with over 1 million followers making a single post reportedly worth nearly “$30,000.”??

Well, the courts disagreed.

The lower court initially sided with JLM and issued an injunction preventing Hayley from accessing the social media accounts.

Then Hayley appealed.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the lower court in part- still preventing HAYLEY from accessing the accounts BUT- ONLY UNTIL HER CASE WAS COMPLETELY SETTLED. The case was sent back to the lower court for a final determination.

The lower court decided that Hayley and JLM should have joint access to use the IG and Pinterest accounts so long as they are used in line with the original contract - to promote JLM brands.

To make a very long story short: Hayley is still prohibited from using the “misshayleypaige” IG and Pinterest in trade or commerce.

As for TikTok, since Hayley did not use her Tiktok to promote JLM branded Hayley Paige gowns, she still has access to the account.

Meanwhile, JLM continues to produce bridal gowns under the name Hayley Paige and has even hired a new designer, Francesca Pitera. Francesca previously worked as a designer for Monique Lhullier.

Whew - trial and error is not way to run a fashion empire.

Follow @MariessaTerrellESQ for more!

Can My Name Be Your Trademark?