Kylie Jenner “rise and shine” memes have gone viral — and the self-made billionaire is looking to cash in on the phenomenon.
According to paperwork filed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Jenner applied for trademarks under a variety categories — including clothing and apparel, as well as cosmetics. The idea is to milk the popular phrase, which she helped explode on social media, for all its worth.
But it is Jenner’s cosmetics application that could face “larger hurdles,” according to trademark attorney David Leichtman.
“There are already several other registrations and applications in the same classes, all of which claim earlier use dates,” he told Yahoo Finance, pointing out two registrations that could pose a threat for the reality star.
One registration tied to an individual in Indiana claimed a use date as early as 2000 for perfumes and other cosmetics. Separately, another pending application submitted by the company Zotos filed under the same classes, with a specification in hair styling products. Both filed with a slightly different spelling than Jenner’s — “Rise N’ Shine”
But despite the variations in usage and spelling, Leichtman said “it is probably close enough that it will draw an objection.”
Jenner’s move comes after NBA superstar Lebron James was recently denied a “Taco Tuesday” trademark by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which cited the phrase was already a “commonplace message” in American lexicon.
But it’s not all bad news for the lip kit mogul.
Jenner filed two applications related to various items of clothing and apparel — one uniquely spelled “riiise and shiiinnee” and another correctly spelled “rise and shine” — both of which should have a better chance of approval, according to Leichtman.
“First, the one with the misspellings seems unique and fanciful enough to qualify for protection,” he explained.
“The one that is spelled correctly does not appear to have competition in the classes requested or most of the goods listed in the application, so it also has a very good chance of being registered if she can show consumers associated the brand with her,” he added.
How ‘rise and shine’ went viral
The social media phenomenon first began after Jenner posted an office tour to her official YouTube page October 10 — where fans immediately noticed her peculiar wake-up call for 1-year-old daughter, Stormi.
“Rise and shine,” Jenner sang — and the memes were officially born. The moment exploded on social media, including the popular video app Tik Tok.
Jenner and her team immediately capitalized on the momentum — selling $65 “Riiise and Shiiinnee” hoodies through her online store, The Kylie Shop — which are now sold out.
In addition to “rise and shine,” news broke this week that Jenner has also filed to trademark her name in the categories of restaurants, bars and cocktail lounges, as well as a variety of home decor items.
Alexandra Canal is a Producer at Yahoo Finance.
Read more: