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For nearly two years, Kiss & Make-Up has established itself as more than a cosmetics shop in downtown Woodstock.

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Suzanne DeLong: owner

Now the business which helped revitalize the downtown core has been forced to change its name.

Owner Suzanne DeLong said she recently received notice she would have to find a new name for her shop. She said owners of a Vancouver-based business trademarked the Kiss & Make-Up name, although the trademark came more than one year after DeLong opened her Main Street business.

“She (the owner) just sent me a letter,” explained DeLong, noting she was unsure how the other business owner came across her name. “She tried to sue me for $50,000 for loss of sales, too.”

DeLong said she nearly lost everything due to some bad legal advice from a firm in town. Not wishing to lose all she had worked so hard for, she took matters into her own hands and contacted a trademark lawyer in Fredericton. She said an agreement was reached with the Vancouver owners. Included in the agreement was the name change by DeLong.

“It is very disappointing,” DeLong said, noting she got her name from an article which was selling new products for the season. “I registered my name like everybody else has to, and I got approved for it.”

She added she had no idea, at the time, another similar business existed in the country with the same name until the trademark notice was brought to her attention.

“People should be aware of trademarks, no matter how big or little you are,” she pointed out.

Since the incident, DeLong has decided to rename her shop Made You Blush, and she had until March 22 to change everything over to her new name.

Her biggest fear is her customers might think she went out of business with the name change, but she reiterates that isn’t the case. She said her business will still offer the same products and the same friendly customer service. It will just be offered under a new name.

This time, DeLong said, she will trademark her new name.

“It is the only one in Canada now,” she noted, “and I want to keep it that way.”

Français : Suzanne DeLong, propriétaire d’une boutique de cosmétiques située au centre-ville de Woodstock et connue sous le nom de Kiss and Make Up, a dû changer le nom de celle-ci après qu’elle eut découvert que le nom était une marque déposée d’une entreprise de Vancouver. Sa boutique portera dorénavant le nom de Made You Blush.