Intellectual property protection on the cosmetics and perfumes market
We devote today’s edition entirely to the cosmetics and perfumes industry, and to the intellectual property protection phenomena and processes specific to that industry.
Research and reports published in recent years confirm that the cosmetics and perfumes market in Poland is doing very well. Lately, the rate of its development has been incomparably faster than in other European countries.
Cosmetics and perfumes are purchased more often and in larger quantities than ever before. In recent years, the profile of demand has changed, with customers now including an increasing number of older people and men. Sales of more expensive products are growing. The distribution channel grid is expanding. Nowadays, cosmetics can be purchased not only in drugstores but also in pharmacies and discount stores. Indeed, low-cost outlets have begun to lead the market and increasingly often open their own cosmetic departments. A large part of sales is carried out via the Internet.
Strong market competition, especially between large players, is another characteristic of the market of cosmetics and perfumes. The customer is bombarded with new formulas, promises of better and faster effects, more convenient and more sophisticated packaging. Local producers are becoming popular. Trust in local brands is growing.
Unfortunately, in parallel to producers competing fairly, there is also a growing number of those who choose to take the easy path. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of counterfeit cosmetics and perfumes produced in Poland. Counterfeits, however, are not the only phenomenon detrimental to makers of genuine products. Many violations take on a dimension that is more sophisticated, which does not mean that it is less harmful.
It’s no coincidence that this edition is entirely devoted to the cosmetics and perfumes industry. We consider it an industry with a bright future. We discern phenomena and processes in it that do not exist anywhere else. Changes taking place on the cosmetics and perfumes market may affect the models of protection of intellectual property rights that the business will want to adopt. We see this happening in our everyday practice.
This edition will answer questions such as whether a perfume scent can be protected. Is it legal to sell perfume and cosmetic sample testers? Is it possible to prohibit retailers from selling perfumes online? What designations it is better not to choose for a new cosmetic? What is the main subject of disputes between entrepreneurs within the industry? Is a genuine trademark intentionally written with a typo necessarily a counterfeit trademark? Can the composition of mascara be patented? Our goal is to submit to a legal analysis the phenomena occurring on the cosmetics and perfumes market from the perspective of the interested players: cosmetics and perfumes producers, parties entitled to different types of intellectual property rights, sellers, retailers and cosmetic packaging makers – who together form the broadly understood cosmetics and perfumes industry.
Enjoy the read!
Włodzimierz Szoszuk, adwokat, Intellectual Property practice, Wardyński & Partners
