Kim Kardashian, a person famous for existing and doing things while a camera is pointed at her, is being sued, but it’s the kind of lawsuit that will likely only further her “personal brand.” The reality star and fashion mogul has long been a proponent of the selfie, to the point where she actually published a book that essentially puts her Instagram feed between two covers, the better to highlight her ability to hold out her phone, aim the lens at herself, and press the button. These pictures are almost always perfectly lit, a fact that is now triggering legal action against her. ET reports that Hooshmand Harooni is suing Kardashian for $100 million over the LuMee phone cases she endorses, because such is the world in which we now Snapchat.
To be specific, Harooni is suing Kardashian company, Kimisaprincess Inc., which is coincidentally also the name you would make up for her company if you were trying to mock the vapid culture of narcissism Kardashian and her ilk symbolize in society, only now we don’t have to, because she did it for us. Essentially Harooni claims LuMee stole the idea for an illuminated cell phone case, a concept he patented back in 2013, but which he claims LuMee stole, and is now using to bilk his own company, Snaplight, Inc., out of massive profits—mostly thanks to the social media presence of Kim Kardashian West, whose endorsement and promotion of LuMee has boosted profits, thanks to her flawless, otherworldly selfie images.
At least, that’s at heart of the case, something Haroomi flat-out admits: ““At issue, here in this action are ‘selfies’ (i.e., photographs that one has taken of oneself)…Ms. West’s endorsement and her pecuniary gain have come at the expense of Plaintiffs,” the court papers say, which may as well be followed with, “How can Snaplight, Inc. hope to compete with that radiant skin, those perfect features, and that dead-eyed gaze, all under the ideal lighting in every single frame? It can’t, and it is not happy about that fact.”
LuMee, for its part, is calling the lawsuit a “shakedown,” and saying it’s totally without merit. And because they almost certainly don’t want to even slightly disturb their money-generating machine, they added, “Kim has done absolutely nothing wrong.” Nothing wrong, that is, except continue to make the work of Ansel Adams look like a vomitous pile of bird shit.