TONYMOLY Wins Final Victory Against LG Household & Health Care in 'Cosmetics Labeling Dispute'

Tonymoly announced on the 28th that it has won the final victory in the lawsuit against LG Household & Health Care over the use of bar graphs to indicate ingredients on cosmetic containers.

According to Tonymoly, on the 24th, the Supreme Court delivered a final ruling dismissing LG Household & Health Care's appeal in the unfair competition lawsuit against Tonymoly, upholding the second trial's decision. Tonymoly had won the second trial in October last year, and the Supreme Court's decision maintains the same ruling as the second trial.

In February 2019, Tonymoly launched the ‘Dr. Okims Sukratenol Recover Cream’ and used bar graphs to indicate product ingredients on the cosmetic container. LG Household & Health Care filed a lawsuit claiming that this labeling was similar to the labeling on the front of cosmetic containers of its brand ‘Belif’.

In the first trial, the court ruled in favor of LG Household & Health Care, judging that the use of bar graphs to indicate cosmetic ingredients was their achievement. However, in the second trial, the plaintiff's claims were entirely dismissed. The court explained that the labeling of ‘Belif’ products was not widely recognized domestically, and consumers were unlikely to confuse the labeling of ‘Dr. Okims Sukratenol Recover Cream’ with that of ‘Belif’ products.

Furthermore, the court stated, “The chemical ingredient labeling part of the marking in question belongs to the public domain that anyone can freely use,” and “It is reasonable in a free market economy to compete with the plaintiff by prominently displaying whether chemical ingredients of interest to consumers are included, using bar graphs and percentage figures.” The Supreme Court's decision is consistent with the second trial's outcome.

A Tonymoly representative said, “By winning the final appeal at the Supreme Court, Tonymoly’s Dr. Okims Sukratenol Recover Cream product is completely free from all legal risks,” and added, “We are pleased to have achieved a good result for a product we developed after much consideration.”