From the beauty industry to the legal world, all eyes are on Lashify’s trailblazing $30.5 million patent infringement jury verdict.
A recent Intellectual Asset Management (subscription required) interview with Fenwick’s Saina Shamilov and Lashify CEO Sahara Lotti highlights the DIY eyelash innovator’s groundbreaking patent victory and underscores how it could lay the foundation for more intellectual property litigation in the beauty industry.
“Ever since the verdict, my inbox is full with people asking me for help about how they can patent their ideas,” Lotti told IAM. “It's inspiring.”
IP protection is rare in the beauty industry—culturally and because it’s often easy to duplicate products without much research and development compared to other industries, Fenwick partner Saina Shamilov, who co-led the litigation, told IAM.
But Lotti obtained those protections, and that made the difference when defendant Qingdao Lashbeauty Cosmetic Co. infringed three of her patents. And now the beauty industry has taken notice, as more potential collaborators emerge for Lashify.
“Now, after the verdict, more licensing discussions have opened up, though it's a little bit unfortunate that to reach this stage, I had to go all the way to federal court,” she told IAM.