Earlier this year, we blogged about the co-founders of MIXED CHICKS hair care suing hair-care giant Sally Beauty for willful trade dress infringement (among other things of course) with the "Mixed Silk" hair care product line and concept.
Guess what? The ladies won -- nearly a million dollars in actual damages plus punitive damages that push them over the $8 million mark for the jury verdict.
This is a big win for small businesses. The plot line of this case is a common danger to entrepreneurs, and (in my experience) a reason many entrepreneurs go off the rails when they need to scale-up their idea. Founder(s) work hard to build a new product that solves an unmet need, get it off the ground, then, whammo! Instead of licensing or even a takeover, a bigger company simply steals their concept, goodwill, and, in some cases, the product itself.
What's a small shop to do? It's tough enough to keep the doors open at an early stage, let alone pay for extra lawyers. You could be crushed in litigation paperwork, driving up your costs until you simply can't afford to maintain the lawsuit (a common tactic, sadly).
Hopefully, after this precedent, a wake-up call will go out that even small businesses can win when they're in the right. Don't steal stuff, even when you think you can get away with it!
Guess what? The ladies won -- nearly a million dollars in actual damages plus punitive damages that push them over the $8 million mark for the jury verdict.
This is a big win for small businesses. The plot line of this case is a common danger to entrepreneurs, and (in my experience) a reason many entrepreneurs go off the rails when they need to scale-up their idea. Founder(s) work hard to build a new product that solves an unmet need, get it off the ground, then, whammo! Instead of licensing or even a takeover, a bigger company simply steals their concept, goodwill, and, in some cases, the product itself.
What's a small shop to do? It's tough enough to keep the doors open at an early stage, let alone pay for extra lawyers. You could be crushed in litigation paperwork, driving up your costs until you simply can't afford to maintain the lawsuit (a common tactic, sadly).
Hopefully, after this precedent, a wake-up call will go out that even small businesses can win when they're in the right. Don't steal stuff, even when you think you can get away with it!
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