L’Oréal Successfully Defends Itself In Patent Infringement Lawsuit

L’Oréal successfully defended itself in a lawsuit brought by the University of Massachusetts Medical School over claims involving an anti-aging treatment.

U-Mass had brought suit in Delaware along with a former Roman Catholic monk who alleged that L’Oréal had infringed on his own patented formula for a cream designed to induce greater skin elasticity to prevent wrinkles. The medical school developed the formula and licensed it back to the monk’s Carmel Laboratories in 2009. 
 
The med school and Carmel Labs were seeking more than $280 million in damages against L’Oréal, and alleged willful infringement, which could have potentially trebled the damages, according to attorneys from Paul Hastings, which defended L’Oréal.
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In a decision earlier week, the District Court of Delaware granted summary judgement for L’Oréal, finding plaintiffs’ patents invalid based on indefiniteness. Rulings on additional summary judgment motions are pending.
 
This is the second IP win Paul Hastings' trial team has recently secured for L’Oréal. In March, the firm defeated an infringement case involving hair treatment products whose patents were asserted by Olaplex Inc.