Olaplex sued L’Oreal for infringing U.S. Patent Nos. 9,498,419 and 9,668,954 and asserted related breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secret claims. The patents relate to systems to protect hair from damage during bleaching treatments. The court granted a preliminary injunction, decided to hold the ruling in abeyance pending trial, and later granted summary judgment of infringement.
The parties then tried validity, willfulness, the non-patent claims, and damages. The jury rejected L’Oreal’s validity defenses, found L’Oreal’s infringement willful, and awarded $21,810,000 and $24,960,000 for infringement of the ‘419 and ‘954 patents, respectively. The jury also found for Olaplex on the non-patent claims and awarded over $20 million for each of those claims.
Four days after the jury verdict, the court granted a permanent injunction, denying L’Oreal’s request for further briefing, a hearing, or to await post-trial briefing.
L’Oreal has requested leave to brief the issue of double recovery, contending that the total damages award cannot exceed $24.96 million.
The case is LIQWD, Inc. and Olaplex LLC v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., et al. CA. No. 17-14-JFB-SRF (D. Del.)
Editors: Mark Kachner, Yanna S. Bouris, Paul Stewart
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