When a David Sues the Kardashians

Earlier this month, seven-employee cosmetics maker Chroma Makeup Studio sued Khroma Beauty, a new cosmetics line from the Kardashian sisters, alleging trademark infringement. The lawsuit has attracted gobs of light-hearted coverage from celebrity bloggers and the Hollywood press corps. Reporting on the David vs. Goliath battle has been steeped in the kind of snarky schadenfreude that is a hallmark of reality TV.

For Lisa Casino and Michael Rey, who opened Chroma in Beverly Hills in 2000, their federal lawsuit is no joke. They worry that their high-end cosmetics line will be spurned by retailers distributing Khroma Beauty products who don’t want to carry two similarly named makeup lines. “We didn’t ask for this fight, but we have to stand up to protect what we’ve worked so hard for over the last 12 years,” says Casino.