The iconic Beverly Hills Hotel has declared war against the LA boutique Kitson over stylized wording, and the scrappy owner isn’t backing down without a fight.
In a legal showdown over a trademark dispute, the legendary pink palace is accusing Kitson of splashing “Beverly Hills” in a ripped off version of the hotel’s “protected, stylized lettering” sold at its store a mile away from the hotspot hotel.
For decades, the hotel branding has been one of the most recognizable luxury aesthetics in Los Angeles: banana-leaf wallpaper, pink and green color palettes, and distinctive looping cursive script.
Instead of quietly folding after getting hit with legal threats from one of the most glamorous hotels on earth, Kitson owner Fraser Ross allegedly picked up the phone and argued with the hotel’s lawyers before doubling down in writing.
“We will sell through the product with the font you are concerned with and change to another font,” Ross wrote in a September 2023 email cited in the complaint. “We have many fonts with the word Beverly Hills.”
Ross told The California Post he initially asked the hotel if Kitson could simply sell through the inventory because the company had just opened its sprawling 5,000-square-foot Beverly Hills flagship and was “full in inventory.”
“I saw the font everywhere,” Ross said, claiming multiple businesses throughout the city used similar lettering without issue.
Looking at the Kitson Beverly Hills flagship, it’s not hard to see why the hotel might have been irked: the boutique is drenched in the same kind of banana-leaf wallpaper with pink and green colors throughout certain sections that the hotel is famous for.
The drama erupted in August 2023 after the hotel discovered the merch at Kitson featuring “Beverly Hills” written in lettering allegedly mimicking the hotel’s recognizable cursive script, according to the hotel’s lawsuit. The hotel claimed the knockoff style items could confuse shoppers into thinking they were officially connected to the hotel.
Ross, however, insists nobody was confused.
“It never said Beverly Hills Hotel,” he told The Post.
He also claims Kitson complied with the hotel’s demands by pulling the disputed merchandise off the sales floor and storing it in the basement — only to get sued anyways.
“It’s been there for two and a half years,” Ross said, estimating it represented roughly $30,000 in cost value.
Ross said the hotel later offered to settle, but only if Kitson paid them. “They wanted me to pay them $7,500,” Ross said. “I said, ‘How do you know I owe you $7,500?’”
He claims his insurance company ultimately stepped in to fund the legal fight.
Kitson didn’t just fight back — the boutique chain fired off a scorched-earth countersuit accusing The Beverly Hills Hotel of trying to monopolize the words “Beverly Hills” and weaponize its luxury status against local businesses.
In court filings, Ross argues that “Beverly Hills” is geographically descriptive — not exclusively owned by the hotel — and claims consumers buy Beverly Hills-themed apparel because they want to show off the city itself, not because they think a $1,250-a-night hotel made the hoodie.
Kitson’s lawyers point to everything from “The Beverly Hillbillies” and the Beverly Hills Cop franchise to “Beverly Hills, 90210” as evidence that the words “Beverly Hills” belong to pop culture, not just one hotel.
They also argue the famous cursive lettering escaped the hotel’s control long ago, citing a laundry list of businesses and landmarks allegedly using similar script without being penalized.
According to Ross, the hotel offered Kitson an undisclosed amount of money to settle after a second mediation session to “stop this from going to trial.” Ross told The Post he refused because he wanted more than just money; he wanted a public apology.
The Beverly Hills Hotel denied to comment on ongoing litigation.
Ross told The Post he believes the lawsuit is ultimately about protecting the hotel’s high-priced gift business from cheaper competition. He has since taken the fight public, posting online and hanging signs in his stores that read “If you chose to stay at The Beverly Hills Hotel or dine at the Polo Lounge, please do not patronize our store.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
