The English Court of Appeal on November 18 handed California haircare start-up Olaplex a victory in its feud with L'Oréal, after ruling that the California start-up’s patent is valid.
The patent relates to Olaplex's Bond Multiplier product, which is used to protect hair during bleaching treatments.
L’Oréal launched its own competing Smartbond product in 2015, which Olaplex contends is based on its own proprietary technology.
The companies have traded blows over the hair protection treatments in courts on both sides of the Atlantic. In August, the US District Court for the District of Delaware ordered L’Oréal to pay nearly USD 50 million for infringing Olaplex patents and misappropriating the California company's trade secrets.
While L'Oréal appeals that decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Olaplex has won another victory at a UK appeals court.
In the judgment, the English Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought by L'Oréal, which argued that the Olaplex patents should be invalidated.
Source: Wipr
