Innovation in the

cosmetics industry

Elaine Eggington
Principal Consultant, IP Pragmatics
elaine.eggington@ip-pragmatics.com
IP Asset Management –
Our Approach
IP Cost Management IP Value Creation
• Renewal Payments (IPRIS) • Auditing
• Nationalisation • Diligence
• European Validation • Valuation
• Market Assessments
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• Partner Identification
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Making Support
IP Foundations • Contract negotiation
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Clients
Selected Projects

Australian Bioactives – Tasmanian native plant extracts with
anti-ageing properties

University of Bangor – bluebell extracts

Marinova – fucoidan extracts from seaweed for cosmetics
and functional foods

BEACON Project at IBERS, Aberystwyth – investigation of
novel ingredients and uses of products from plants, esp
forage grasses; horizon scanning to identify feedstocks and
end products for the HiPLExSon project

Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew – business case for a
partnership with the Red List Project for a range of ethically
sourced essential oils and fragrances
Innovation in the Cosmetics
Industry

What is innovation?

Types & sources of innovation, current trends

Intellectual property and natural cosmetic
ingredients

Patent landscape

Innovation in natural ingredients

Conclusions
What is Innovation?

matching what is possible

with what is needed
to create economic value or
social good or both

- Prof Roy Sandbach

Innovation in Cosmetics

Ingredients

Product type
Packaging

Production
Formulation
Some Trends

Rise of well-being

Natural with sustainable, fair, ethical sourcing

Ageing consumers, increasing sophistication

Personalisation and smart products

Early tech adoption eg liposomes, nanotechnology

Multifunctional products eg “alphabet creams”,
night-time products

Different forms and textures, eg water-activated or
mixed products, foams, jellies

Cosmeceuticals and scientific evidence

Biotechnology
Sources of Innovation –
A Fragmented Market
European Cosmetics and Toiletries Industry
No. of companies operating in the EU cosmetics industry in 2010: ~4,000
No. of SME manufacturing enterprises in 2010: 3,041

Source: COLIPA Activity Report 2010 – The European Cosmetics Market 2010
Forms of Intellectual Property

Patents
 Protection for things (products), processes, etc

Know how
 Confidential trade secret

Copyright
 Literary and artistic works

Database rights
 Protects collection of data

Design rights
 Applied to articles and protects what something looks like

Trade marks
 Protects goodwill of a business associated with products and/or services.
Cosmetic Patents in Context
Number of patent publications between 1990
and Jan 2010 for a range of different sectors

Source: Trends in patent activity in the cosmetics and perfume sectors. Information note 1.
Union for Ethical BioTrade
Patenting Trends

Patent search in Thomson Innovation

Classification codes relating to cosmetics and toiletries +
Search terms relating to extracts or ingredients +
Search terms relating to plants and natural bio-actives
Published in the last 20 years

 55,779 patent cases

 21,254 INPADOC patent families
Patenting Trends
Patents published per year
6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0
Research Location
Top Assignees
Territories Protected
Patent Landscape
Claim Language – Novel Extracts

1. An extract of the seeds of Kniphofia uvaria seeds,
obtained by mechanical pressing of said seeds, or by
bringing said seeds into contact with at least one
cosmetically or dermatologically acceptable nonpolar
solvent, and removing said solvent.

1. A composition comprising
a) an extract of the seeds of the plant Buchholzia coriacea and
b) auxiliaries and/or additives, which are common for
cosmetic purposes.
Claim Language - Use

1. Use of an active substance or an active substance
mixture, available from plants of the kind Lindera, for the
improvement of the structure of keratin fibers, in
particular the structure of human hair.

1. Extract of Bellis perennis L. for use as a depigmenting
agent in a therapeutic method of depigmenting human
skin.

1. Cosmetic use of kombucha to fight against skin ageing,
in particular to prevent or inhibit the protein glycation,
especially collagen, and to stimulate subcutaneous lipid
synthesis.
Claim Language - Combinations

1. A composition comprising at least one Dead Sea extract
and at least one extract of the Himalayan Raspberry (Rubus
ellipticus), an extract of the Goji Berry (Lycium Barbarum),
and an extract of the Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica).

1. A composition obtainable by the method of extracting
plant materials selected from the group consisting of
Mangifera indica and/or Fumaria officinalis and/or Rumex
japonicus.

1. A topical composition comprising
 (i) an extract of a first active which is Azadirachta indica; and
 (ii) an extract of a second active selected from Momordica charantia or
Sesamum indicum.
Claim Language – Production
Methods

1. Process for preparation of a plant extract from plant
material, for the preparation of an infusion including:
 a stage of contact between the plant material and a solvent;
 at least one stage of extraction in liquid phase of the principal active
ingredients, performed with heating and under low pressure;
 a stage of drying of the plant material having undergone at least the
stage of extraction in the presence of the fraction obtained at the end
of at least the extraction stage, in order to allow the fixing of the main
active ingredients onto the plant material.

1. Material of plant origin which is a cell extract obtained by
in vitro plant culture of Oxydendrum arboreum.
Claim Language – All of These

1. A method of treating a skin condition comprising topically
applying to skin in need thereof a composition comprising
jaboticaba fruit pulp and/or cashew fruit pulp, or extracts
thereof, wherein the composition increases hyaluronic acid
synthesis and inhibits COX-1 and TNF-a synthesis in the skin.
 wherein the water extract is prepared by a process consisting of:
(a) adding stem, root, leave, flower, and fruit of paper mulberry plant
into water to obtain a mixture;
(b) conducting an extraction by boiling the mixture of (a); and
(c) filtering the resulting boiled mixture of (b) to obtain a filtrate,
standing the filtrate, and concentrating the filtrate by distillation under
reduced pressure
Value of IP in Natural Cosmetics

Patents
 Monopoly right
 ‘Negative’ right
 Value depends on breadth of monopoly
 Freedom to Operate more important?

Patent value versus other forms of IP?
 Know-how (production, formulation etc)
 Data and Regulatory approvals / Certification
 Trademark / Brand name
Patent Box

New tax regime in the UK from April 2013

Reduces corporation tax on qualifying profits to
10% (worldwide sales)

Products developed in the UK, sold by a UK
company and covered by a granted UK or
European patent

Will give rise to companies having “patent box IP”
 Patents with narrow scope
 Quick to grant
 Little or no monopoly rights value
Natural Ingredients in Cosmetics
Innovation in Natural Ingredients

Any new natural / plant-based ingredient needs
to be able to distinguish itself in terms of:
 Scientific data
 Supply chain
 Cost
 Marketing story
Conclusions

Innovation comes in many forms from many
sources

Natural ingredients can form an important
distinguishing feature, but face stiff competition

Rising number of patents filed in the sector

Most patents in the sector filed by large
companies; FtoO may be more important

Challenge is to link product efficacy to need
Questions?
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