Patent lawsuit aims to clip Paris Hilton hair extensions

By Eriq Gardner

EXCLUSIVE BUT SILLY: This might be the hairiest lawsuit ever.

A company called Celebrity Signatures Int'l specializes in selling hair extensions that allow women to look like famous people. On its website, Hair U Wear, the company offers looks ranging from Jessica Simpson to the latest coiffures on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Hairstyle knock-offs, right? Actually, Celebrity Signatures has filed patent applications on its "alternative hair" accessories. So when another hair extension company, HairTech Int'l, began marketing similar looks, Celebrity Signature sued claiming its competitor was selling a knock-offs of its, um, patented knock-off.

That's where Paris Hilton enters the picture.

In a complaint filed Monday in federal court in Missouri, Celebrity Signatures alleges that HairTech is infringing its patents, including clip-in hair extensions branded "Clipin-Go by Paris Hilton" and "Dream Catchers."

According to HairTech's website, the company signed a deal with Hilton in 2007 to be the face of its "Dream Catchers" hair extension line. Are the Hilton fake locks too similar to the Celebrity Signature extensions?

If Celebrity Signatures thinks it has the right to long-flowing hair ala Paris Hilton, perhaps the heiress should sue for misappropriation of likeness. Hilton has some recent success using that legal claim. It's only a matter of time before a court sees hairstyles as a publicity right.