Court intervenes to protect patent

To protect its Argireline patent, ingredients supplier Lipotec enlisted the help of the Mercantile Court number 3 of Barcelona during April's In-Cosmetics show.

The Court Commission, supported by the In-Cosmetics exhibition director, visited the stands of two exhibiting companies to stop the offer and sale of Argireline. Promotional and technical documentation was withdrawn and the exhibitors were informed of the prohibition of offering or selling the product acetyl hexapeptide-3 (recently changed to acetyl hexapeptide-8). Commercialised under the name Argireline, Lipotec owns the patent covering this material and is the only company authorised to commercialise it.

“Copied products lack the technical guarantees of the original Argireline since they do not result from an R&D process capable of ensuring their safety, stability or efficacy,” says Arturo Puig, director of documentation and regulatory affairs with Lipotec. “To the best of our knowledge it was the first time that such measures have been taken in defence of a patent in the cosmetics field.”