Petunia Products is taking on Anastasia Beverly Hills and its founder over the name and marketing of her forthcoming memoir, Raising Brows: My Story of Building a Billion-Dollar Beauty Empire – and pulling in Oprah Winfrey’s media arm, Penguin Random House, and Ulta Beauty along the way. According to a newly filed lawsuit, Petunia accuses the defendants of “manufacturing, distributing, supplying, advertising, promoting, offering for sale and/or selling, without authorization” a slate of title, marketing, and launch activities that lift from Petunia’s “Raising Brows” and “Billion Dollar” branding to drive interest in the book and related promotions.
In the complaint that it lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on October 13, Petunia Products points to its portfolio of federally registered trademarks – including RAISING BROWS, BILLION DOLLAR BEAUTY, and BILLION DOLLAR BROWS – and argues that it has “expended extensive resources” building goodwill in those marks. Against this background, Petunia argues that Anastasia Beverly Hills and its founder Anastasia Soare titled and are marketing her Raising Brows book with a deliberate intent to trade off that goodwill.
Looking beyond the book title, Petunia says the rollout is equally problematic. The complaint spotlights a “Raising Brows Live” conversation with Oprah Winfrey in Los Angeles, a cross-retail preorder push promising availability “anywhere books are sold,” and an Ulta Instagram giveaway pairing a signed copy of Raising Brows with Anastasia Beverly Hills products. Petunia asserts that these are commercial touch-points that tether the contested title to Anastasia Beverly Hills’ beauty goods and retail channels, amplifying the risk of association and falsely suggesting affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement across event branding, social promotions, and point-of-sale activity.
Petunia also points to Google keyword advertising and Amazon search results that, it claims, steer consumers searching for “Raising Brows,” “Billion Dollar Beauty,” and “Billion Dollar Brows” to defendants’ listings.
While the dispute centers on Soare’s book title, Petunia further alleges trade dress infringement tied to the launch. The complaint cites Anastasia Beverly Hills’ promotion of a limited-edition “Brow Wiz” gift-with-purchase as “nearly identical” in look and feel to Petunia’s Raising Brows Pen – including overall color, size, and design – and argues that the side-by-side resemblance compounds the likelihood of confusion.
Taken together with the event branding and social giveaways, Petunia says, the campaign creates a commercial association that implies endorsement where none exists.
>> TL/DR: Petunia Products brings claims of federal and common law trademark infringement, false designation of origin under Lanham Act § 43(a), unfair competition under federal and California law, and trade dress infringement. These causes of action arise from allegations that the defendants used confusingly similar branding, marketing, and product packaging to promote Anastasia Soare’s memoir and related campaigns, unlawfully trading on Petunia’s trademarks, including RAISING BROWS, BILLION DOLLAR BEAUTY, and BILLION DOLLAR BROWS.
A representative for Anastasia Beverly Hills was not immediately available for comment.
The case is Petunia Products, Inc. v. Anastasia Beverly Hills, LLC, et al., 8:25-cv-02312 (C.D. Cal.).
Share
