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ARTICLE · 27 JANUARY 2025

Lashing Out At Dupes

Golan Christie Taglia
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"Dupes" are products that look and work like a popular item. In the cosmetic industry, dupes can give consumers on a budget access to products that they might not otherwise be able to afford.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Beverly Berneman
Beverly Berneman

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Here's What Happened:

"Dupes" are products that look and work like a popular item. In the cosmetic industry, dupes can give consumers on a budget access to products that they might not otherwise be able to afford. 

Benefit Cosmetics LLC sells mascara using the trademark "Roller Lash" that includes an applicator known as a "Hook 'N' Roll" brush. The Roller Lash packaging can be seen in the attached graphic. Benefit has achieved about $278 million in sales since releasing the product in 2015.

ELF Cosmetics Inc. released a mascara of its own using the trademark "Lash 'N' Roll". The ELF product appears in the graphic as well.

Benefit sued ELF for trademark and trade dress infringement. After a bench trial, the court found that there was no likelihood of confusion between Benefit's product and ELF's dupe product.

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