Cosmetics company gets rapped for trading under BBC name

By Lucy Whitehouse

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Trademark Brand

Cosmetics company gets rapped for trading under BBC name
A company retailing products in Russia has been called out for ‘misleading’ consumers by trading under the BBC name, and has had its trademark invalidated.

Until now known as ‘Britain BBC International Cosmetics’, the company, which is unconnected to the British Broadcasting Corporation, produces its products in China, selling them across multiple countries, but largely in Russia.

The Russian patents office Rospatent has removed the company’s rights to use the name, following a study of the brand’s consumers which found 60.5% of respondents thought the products are made with the broadcasting corporation’s permission.

The brand

Products under the Britain BBC International Cosmetics trade name are largely produced in factories in the south of China and are available in 55 countries. The company produces ranges across hair, skin and body care.

The beauty brand came under complaint from the BBC broadcasting corporation for both the use of the three letter initial branding, and a ‘similar logo’: “the existence of two similar logos used by two different companies is confusing and can form erroneous ideas about the manufacturer of the cosmetics goods,​” Rapsi reported of the patent  office’s statement.

Listed as a partner company in the Batel ‘cosmetics network’ of Chinese brands in Russia, the profile for Britain BBC International Cosmetics falsely states that its ranges are produced “under the control of Britain BBC Cosmetics International, UK​”, going on to claim that “this ensures a European quality control”.

Neither brand responded to requests for comment by Cosmetics Design.

Trademark scuffles

Beauty brands in trademark disputes is a hot topic at the moment, following UK brand Lush’s recent win against e-retailer Amazon in the High Court.

In a marketing move now deemed misleading for the consumer, Amazon diverted consumer searches for ‘Lush’ products to those unconnected with the beauty brand.

The court ruled in favour of Lush’s claim that this violated its intellectual property.

The judge noted that Lush has “an image which it says it wishes to preserve and it has taken the decision not to allow its goods to be sold on Amazon because of the damage that it perceives there would be to that reputation​.”

The cases highlight that brand identity remains integral to beauty retail.

Related news

Related products

show more

Collagen Reimagined, Discover Biodesigned Type XXI

Collagen Reimagined, Discover Biodesigned Type XXI

Content provided by Geltor | 20-Mar-2024 | Product Brochure

Collagen is the body’s most abundant protein and a mainstream ingredient for beauty. Type XXI collagen transcends a common protein into a powerful bioactive

Empowering natural barrier function for future-proof skin

Empowering natural barrier function for future-proof skin

Content provided by Lucas Meyer Cosmetics | 14-Mar-2024 | White Paper

Corneopeptyl™ is a new patented peptide biomimetic to the LCE6A protein, obtained by green chemistry-based synthesis. By mimicking the LCE6A protein activity,...

Get your skin ready for summer

Get your skin ready for summer

Content provided by Robertet Health & Beauty | 27-Jun-2023 | Product Brochure

Sunbathing at the beach is the first UV-related skin damage that comes to mind. Whereas, enjoying a coffee on a terrace under the sun can be as harmful.

Related suppliers

Follow us

Products

View more

Podcast

Beauty 4.0 Podcast