5 Renowned Cosmetology Brands That Have Trademarked
Whether you’re a nail stylist, lash application expert, salon owner, beauty guru, or master barber, there are some essential things you need to know about trademarking your beauty business to ensure all goods and services you offer are not only protected but also not at risk of trademark infringement. Luckily, tons of renowned cosmetology and beauty brands set the perfect example for how to operate as a business and properly trademark goods and services. Below, we will dive deeper into five major cosmetology brands that have trademarked the right way to give you more insight on how to go about your business endeavors in the beauty space. But first, let’s go over the primary trademark class for cosmetics and other relative classes related to beauty.
Trademarking Your Beauty Business
Have a unique beauty business service or brand concept? The great news is that you can secure your business by filing a trademark application to register a trademark–or multiple–for your cosmetics, services, and beauty brand. Your trademark can be in a series of words, marks, phrases, or combinations of the above. Smells can be trademarked, too. In the beauty world, take a look at Benefit cosmetics signature logo with an italic F or Sephora’s classic yet straightforward black and white striped logo. Many beauty brands keep it simple with subtle lettering and a distinguishable color–something distinct, identifiable, and chic.
The most common trademark class for beauty is Class 3, which covers most cosmetic and cleaning preparations. This includes soaps, perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions, and other substances used for laundry, cleaning, polishing, scouring, and abrasive liquids. Other examples include Listerine and breath fresheners, eyelash application, eyelash extension services, and hair care preparations. Now, if you were to open a beauty service for animals, you would need to apply for Class 5, which covers pharmaceuticals and deodorants, etc., for nonhumans.
Bear in mind that if you want to establish a beauty business, you’ll want to trademark a combination of goods and services that apply to your brand. Read the fine lines and do your research, as not everything falls in the same wheelhouse. Cosmetic pencils, pads, oils, creams, masks, tanning lotion, cosmetic preparation for lashes, and medical services related to beauty care might not all be in the same category. Below, we’ve included several class categories you’ll want to consider when filing your trademark application.
Class Considerations for Beauty Brands
- Class 1 – products or services that a business is currently producing or has available under the business or trademark name
- Class 4 – broad category includes medical care, hygienic products, and beauty care products for humans and animals.
- Class 16 – cosmetic pencil sharpeners and cosmetic removing paper, paper tissues for cosmetic use
- Class 18 – cosmetic cases and bags sold empty.
- Class 21 – household utensils aka beauty tools such as beach waves hair waver by trademark beauty, like cosmetic spatulas and brushes, microdermabrasion sponges for cosmetic use, droppers sold empty for cosmetic purposes,
- Class 44 – medical services, veterinary services, hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals, cosmetic eyebrow care services, cosmetic tattoo services such as microblading, skin care services, non invasive cosmetic medical procedures, non-permanent hair removal, beauty spa services, facial treatments, cosmetic peels, airbrush tanning services or skin tanning service for humans for cosmetic purposes, laser treatments, etc.
Cosmetology and Beauty Brands
The most powerful beauty conglomerates out there ensure protection on all fronts, and we could all learn a thing or two from how they run their business and secure their offerings–both goods and services.
The popular brands listed below all offer diverse beauty services and cosmetic products, which means they will all need to apply for different combinations of trademark classes.
- Benefit BrowBar
- Benefit BrowBar specializes in enhancing the appearance of your eyebrows through crafting the perfect shape and color for your face. They offer tinting, waxing, and dying. It also sells a handful of cosmetic products to lighten or darken and shape your brows temporarily. Their trademarks include Class 44 for cosmetic eyebrow care services and non-permanent hair removal, as well as Class 3 for pencils for cosmetic purposes, among other class categories.
- Laser Away
- Specializes in removing hair, tattoos, and acne scarring via laser machinery. They also sell SPF protectant lotions, creams, and other skin products. Naturally, they have trademarked Class 44 for laser treatments and non-permanent hair removal and noninvasive cosmetic medical procedures, as well as Class 3 for creams and other skin cleaning and preparation products they sell.
- Lash Bar
- Lash Bar is a trademark of Tarte which specializes in helping you achieve the perfect lashes through lash extension application and lifting. Their primary class for trademarking is Class 3 which covers application and extensions, and Class 44.
- Sephora Trademark of Sephora
- Being a massive cosmetic department store for all things beauty, including beauty tools, makeup products, removers, perfumes, and their signature collection of the makeup line, Sephora has several trademarks. Not only do they offer every product in the book to get you feeling and looking glam, but they also offer services such as 20-minute makeovers, which are great for special occasions like birthdays, prom, and holiday events. They have trademarks for many of the class categories listed above.
- Glossier
- Another critically-acclaimed cosmetic brand that features tons of branded products related to skin, beauty, and perfume is Glossier. They offer air fragrance reed diffusers, air fragrance preparations, bath bombs, body sprays used as a personal deodorant and as fragrance, cosmetic skin fresheners, deodorizing products, body scrubs, shower gels, perfumed powders and souls, oils for perfumes and scents, scented linen sprays, skin creams, skin cleansers, to name a few. Their primary trademark categories are Class 3 and Class 44. Supposedly, their perfume is trending on TikTok–with many women stating it has an alluring quality and has caused people to gravitate towards them in a way they’ve never seen. Looks like they are doing something right!
Trademark Limitations
Sure, you can trademark your salon name, logo, product shape, etc. Makeup formulas, on the other hand, are not trademarkable. They can, however, be patented if they pass the test. Obtaining a formulation patent can be rewarding, but it can also be a great feat as it must meet certain requirements; the formulation must be new, inventive, and have a technical character. You’ll likely want to go with a patent in this case.
Another strange and not so widely known no-no is replicating art in the beauty space. Most cartoon characters, company symbols, and logos are actually protected by either copyright or trademark law, meaning nail artists are technically allowed to replicate them, even if a client requests it. While people love mimicking their favorite designer labels, some images or logos can be illegal to get on your nails. Without proper permissions and licenses, this love and appreciation for brands and characters expressed through nail art can be intellectual property infringement. Luckily, trademark and copyright owners from designer brands like Balenciaga or Louis Vuitton are likely not to come for enthusiasts of their designer brands for intellectual property infringement for getting nail art that is a reproduction of their logo imagery. For them, it’s a small fish to fry for a big and costly lawsuit, and it typically isn’t worth it unless it’s another Alpha brand. It’s still important to know that it isn’t legal in most cases.
Interestingly enough, nail artists can also get their designs or art copyrighted, provided the invention is a unique pictorial or graphic work. Of course, this doesn’t apply to all beauty services and procedures. For example, you can’t trademark a hairstyle, but you can trademark the shape of a product such as the Beauty Blender.
We hope this information has helped you narrow in on what trademark class categories you might expect to apply for when securing your beauty business. If you’d like to connect with one of our trademark experts to discuss how to take the next steps to trademarking your cosmetic goods and services, we are here for you!
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