Estée Lauder Sues Jo Malone Over Zara Name Use

British perfumer Jo Malone is facing a lawsuit from Estée Lauder Companies over her use of her own name in a recent fragrance collaboration with retailer Zara, according to High Court filings made on Wednesday.

The intellectual property claim, brought by Estée Lauder Europe and Jo Malone Limited, targets Malone personally, her company Jo Loves, and ITX Limited, which operates as Zara in the UK. It alleges trademark infringement, passing off, and breach of contract. No detailed court documents are yet available, but the dispute centers on packaging for a line of perfumes developed by Jo Loves for Zara, which includes the phrase "A creation by Jo Malone CBE, founder of Jo Loves."

Malone founded her original Jo Malone fragrance brand in the 1990s before selling it to Estée Lauder in 1999 for an undisclosed sum. As part of the agreement, she received compensation but agreed to restrictions on using her name in commercial contexts, particularly for marketing fragrances. For several years afterward, she complied with these terms. A non-compete clause prevented her from working in the industry until it expired, leading her to launch Jo Loves in 2011 as a new fragrance venture.