L'Oreal loses Botox trademark challenge in EU

Brussels - Cosmetic manufacturer L’Oréal’s attempt to trademark products with a similar name to Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA, Allergan), was rejected by the top European Union court.

Bloomberg News reports that the EU Court of Justice upheld earlier rulings by the EU trademark office refusing L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics maker, the right to trademark the words “botolist” and “botocyl” for cosmetic products.

“The use of the marks at issue would take unfair advantage of the reputation of the Botox trademarks,” according to a court statement.

According to Allergan, L’Oréal was attempting to cash in on Botox’s reputation by using similar names for cosmetics.

“This court ruling reinforces Allergan’s position that the Botox name should only be used in relation to Allergan’s product,” a company spokeswoman said.

Representatives for L’Oréal had no immediate comment.

Go back to the Dermatology Times eNews newsletter.