Hayley Paige v. Hayley Paige (JLM Couture)
Photo by Celia Michon on Unsplash
Bridal Visionary Hayley Paige 'Vows' to Share her Creativity and Work Again Amidst Legal Battle with Longtime Employer JLM Couture
Yesterday afternoon, beloved bridal designer Hayley Paige (legal name ‘Hayley Paige Gutman’) posted an emotional and raw 8-minute video to her *new* Instagram profile, @allthatglittersonthegram.
Check out Hayley’s announcement here.
Hayley’s fiercely devoted community of customers, fans, and 1 Million+ followers were shocked and enraged when they learned of the legal battle between Hayley and JLM Couture, Hayley’s employer and the company behind the scenes of the Hayley Paige brand. Choosing her words very carefully, Hayley announced her resignation from her namesake brand, explaining that the lawsuit is the result of her effort to renegotiate her contract with JLM - a contract which was signed in 2011 when Hayley was 25.
So, what exactly is going on between from a legal POV?
Well, from the complaint filed by JLM Couture against Hayley Paige Gutman, the court temporarily granted JLM Couture, Gutman’s employer for the last 9 years, the rights to all intellectual property related to the Hailey Paige brand, including the use of her name, signature, and all other Hayley Paige assets; this includes the bridal designs, the Hayley Paige website, and nearly all of Hayley’s social media accounts (i.e. Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok). Her decision to step down as head designer put the brand’s intellectual property front and center of the parties’ dispute — and, it appears, brought to light an unfortunate (*but disputed) truth, which is that in 2011, Hayley agreed to build the brand as JML’s employee, effectively signing away her right to claim ownership over anything related to the Hayley Paige brand.
In the video, Hayley pleads with her followers to not make the same mistake that she did all those years ago:
“I was 25 years old and I did not have a lawyer. If anyone tells you that you don’t need to have a lawyer take a look at an agreement or contract please get a lawyer. If that is the only thing you take away from this video I will be happy."
There are a couple of things at play here...
When you are an employee, oftentimes, you are pretty much guaranteeing that you are giving your employer the rights to all of your work product. this can include anything you create while working for the employer, as well as any of the social media accounts, websites, or other pieces of intellectual property that relate to the scope of your employment.
In addition, any fashion designer should think about their goals and the future of their brand from the very beginning. Why? Because if you sell your company you could be selling the rights to use your name, because when your name is your brand, and you sell your brand, you are probably selling your name.
Your names, logos and designs, photos, advertisements all of this makes up your intellectual property and when other people become involved and start using your intellectual property, you should spell out exactly how these assets can be used.
It’s a pretty common practice when fashion designers use their names for their brands, and when they sell or get acquired, they sell the rights to their name such as the case with and Kate Spade.
Stop.
Pause.
Breathe.
… There is plenty that you can do to protect yourself and your brand.
Do not sign a thing without consulting legal counsel.
DO NOT SIGN A THING WITHOUT CONSULTING LEGAL COUNSEL FIRST!
Register your Trademarks
Register Copyrights
No handshake deals. Protect yourself with a written contract reviewed by a trusted lawyer
YOU'RE IN CONTROL of YOUR intellectual property… and DO NOT let anyone tell you otherwise… no matter how big the company, or how exciting the opportunity.
If there’s anything we can do for you or any of your designer friends, tell them to give us a call.