Cosmetics brand L'Oreal and the University of Massachusetts (UMass) have reached a resolution in their $200 million patent dispute over a method for adding an ingredient into moisturizing cream. The dispute, which has been ongoing for nearly two years, recently received new attention when a federal appeals court revived the patent case. The resolution of the dispute was announced in a Delaware federal court [ce31bf8d].
This patent dispute between UMass and L'Oreal centered around a method for incorporating an ingredient into anti-aging cream. UMass claimed that L'Oreal had infringed on its patent by using this method in their products. The university sought $200 million in damages from L'Oreal [ce31bf8d].
The resolution of this dispute brings an end to the legal battle between UMass and L'Oreal. The details of the resolution were not disclosed in the announcement made in the Delaware federal court. However, it is likely that the parties reached a settlement agreement that resolved their differences [ce31bf8d].
In a separate case, a group of law students from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China filed a lawsuit against L'Oreal for gender-based pricing discrimination. The students discovered that two similar facial cleansers marketed towards different genders had a significant price difference. They formed a team and prepared a lawsuit, seeking not only a refund but also a change in the pricing policy. The case was accepted by the court as a network shopping contract dispute. However, before the trial, L'Oreal offered a settlement, which the students initially rejected. Eventually, they accepted the settlement, which included a refund but did not address the pricing issue. The students aimed to raise awareness about gender-based pricing discrimination, commonly known as the 'pink tax,' and hoped to achieve gender-neutral pricing in the future. The case gained attention on social media and sparked discussions about the prevalence of the pink tax in various products [90f88993].
