The cosmetic industry consists of bodily care products such as skincare, makeup, and bath to sustain the human body.
The industry is anticipated to touch $463.5 Billion by 2027 with a combined annual growth rate of 5.3%, marking it as one of the most profitable industries in the world. In India, as of 2017, the business scope of the cosmetic industry was estimated at 11 billion USD and is expected to relinquish a cost of 20 billion USD by 2025. Annually, various cosmetic conglomerates include a diversity of widely sold products.
Cosmetic brands aim to include products upheld by scientific applications, significantly improving their marketability. Cosmetic conglomerates use a considerable amount of capital to study, develop, and form such commodities. This has stoked the genesis of cosmetic patents intended to shield beauty merchandise formulation, study, and analysis. One of the early cosmetic patents can be identified back to 1888, which was granted for a deodorant.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has devoted a separate class for the patenting of cosmetics. Several specifications must be effected to patent a cosmetic product. The product must consist of a patentable subject matter and formulation or a mixture of components that restrict as a patentable subject matter.
Secondly, the cosmetic outcome must be novel. This essentially means that the cosmetic invention should consist of elements that distinguish it from pre-existing products in the market. Thirdly, the cosmetic product should produce some industrial relevance. This essentially indicates that creativity should be helpful to the general people. In the patent application, it is essential to explain the application of the cosmetic product.
Apart from cosmetic products before-mentioned as creams, bathing bars, or makeup items, the package of different cosmetic products is also patentable. A design patent may be achieved if the product's packaging is novel and purposeful.
The applicability of patent laws is insignificantly different when a natural cosmetic product is patented. A naturally occurring commodity in its natural environment cannot be patented. This is because the herbal cosmetic product is not considered an invention. A patent can be granted for the herbal product usage and the unique formulation of the herbal cosmetic.
For instance, in 1988, L'Oréal had requested a patent to protect the genus chrysanthemum extract. The patent was granted since the purpose defined that L'Oréal was endeavoring the patent to use the essence. The use involved applying the essence of a person's skin to combat pigmentation. Thus, the patent was awarded.