The boom in investment in beauty product sales has helped drive a 31% jump in UK trade mark disputes over cosmetics brands in the last year, jumping to 55 disputes up from 42 in the previous 12 months, shows new research by leading intellectual property law firm Mathys & Squire*.
The sector is a fertile ground for trade mark disputes as major beauty companies launch new products and new cosmetic companies, often backed by social media influencers, proliferate.
Some of the disputes centre around the growth in dupes i.e. cheaper imitations of expensive cosmetics products.
Trade marks give businesses and influencers intellectual property rights over distinctive elements of their brands, such as their name or logo. This helps them take legal action against copycats trying to encroach on their product area.
Actions brought last year include one against an online beauty brand accused of copying Anomaly, the vegan haircare brand founded by influencer Priyanka Chopra Jonas**. Another case brought in the UKIPO was against L’Oreal for applying to register “LUMI SKIN GLOW TINT” based on earlier LUMI formative trade marks.
Claire Breheny, Partner at Mathys & Squire, says: “The growth of the sector has created a very competitive environment with both claims been launched by innovative new brands and by the big cosmetics houses.”
“Many small businesses are selling beauty products on social media that imitate the names, logos or packaging of well-established brands. Fighting against them is much harder without trade mark protection.
“One of the problems that large companies now face is the enthusiasm that younger consumers have for “dupes” which are products that are often deliberate copies of, or at best “inspired by” best-selling products.”
The global beauty market is worth $450 billion and has grown by around 7% annually over the past three years***. Cosmetic products are often seen as resilient as demand for them holds up even during downturns – the so-called “lipstick effect”.
Disputes concerning skincare brands accounted for 24% of cases (13) while those involving make-up brands made up 13% (7). These sectors have attracted growing business interest as viral tutorials on social media boost consumer demand.
Claire Breheny says: “Some small businesses are taking advantage of the boom in interest in skincare to launch copycat brands. Skincare is much bigger category than it was just a decade ago.”
Generally, when demand for specific products rises rapidly and businesses rush to launch new brands, the door is left open for trade mark disputes.”
Disputes concerning haircare products accounted for 20% of cases in the last year (11) while fragrances made up 16% (9). Other categories included body care (4 cases or 7%), nail products (3 cases or 5%) and dental products (3 cases, or 5%).
* Source: Year end 31 October 2025
** The action was brought by Maesa LLC, a beauty brand incubator that partnered with Priyanka Chopra Jonas to develop Anomaly
*** Source: McKinsey – The State of Fashion: Beauty report
