L’Oreal Says Drunk Elephant Copies Patented Skin Serum

An $80 vitamin C serum sold by skincare upstart Drunk Elephant infringes on a patent owned by L’Oreal, the beauty giant said in a new lawsuit.

Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma Day Serum comes too close to a formula patented by L’Oreal-owned SkinCeuticals Inc., the Nov. 14 lawsuit alleged. L’Oreal wants a court order blocking Drunk Elephant from selling the allegedly infringing serum and forcing it to turn over serum-related sales.

L’Oreal’s SkinCeuticals brand sells a product called C E Ferulic serum for $166 per one-ounce bottle. The C E Ferulic serum—which SkinCeuticals says improves signs of aging and photodamage and ...