美容美髮Business News

L’Oreal is suing indie skin care brand Drunk Elephant over alleged patent infringement. Companies in the skincare industry face an incredibly imitative and competitive company, with educated customers who are looking for the best product at the best price. Because companies are legally required to list ingredients based on their concentration, this allows labs to analyze companies and recreate nearly identical products through a process known as “deformulation”. This practice is allowed provided the original company does not have a patent on a particular ingredient or formula, but many brands are hesitant to patent their products. If the brand is unsuccessful at patenting their formula, the information provided for the patent will immediately go public. Many brands do not feel it is worth the risk and rely on brand reputation and constant innovation to keep ahead of so called ‘dupe’ imitators. While a behemoth like L’Oreal typically ignores smaller brands copying their products, this case is different. Drunk Elephant’s rival product has been cutting into L’Oreal sales and earning acclaim from respected beauty reviewers like Allure Magazine. As Drunk Elephant has grown globally as a brand and has a lot to lose if it is unable to win the suit and is forced to cease producing one of its top products. The ruling either way will have ripple affects across the industry.

 

Source ： https://www.vox.com/