No-so-gray outcome in Beige v. Beige
A company run by a social media influencer selling followers on a “beige creamy esthetic” sued another she alleged was copying what she was promoting — outfits, household items, décor and more — and recently settled because she couldn’t copyright or control what’s pretty much everyone is doing, according to an analysis in the National Law Review.
Sydney Nicole Gifford and her company sued Alyssa Sheil and her company in April 2024 in federal court in Texas, alleging multiple causes of action arising from the same pattern of purportedly wrongful conduct, leaning heavily on copyright protections.
Dubbing herself an Instagram and TikTok sensation with an Amazon Storefront that reels in commissions, Ms. Gifford said she had “devoted hundreds of hours to establishing her unique brand identity,” described as a “neutral, beige, and cream aesthetic.” She included multiple examples of how she alleged Ms. Sheil copied her.
The terms of the settlement have not been made public, and most of the claims had already been dismissed, but Ms. Gifford’s decision to stand down “may have been based, in part, upon the probability that she could not prevail on the merits of her claims,” according to the legal analysis.
As the publication opined, “(m)any experts and commentators have observed that a ‘vibe’ or a ‘minimalist aesthetic’ lacks sufficient originality to be protected by copyright or trademark law and that, therefore, someone who copies such a vibe or aesthetic cannot be held liable for infringement.”
